Mancos State Park will host a First Responders Appreciation Day on Saturday, Aug. 13. All public safety professionals and volunteers, military members and their families are invited to a day of honor and remembrance, as well as fun, family games and food.
The $7 park entry fee will be waived for identified first responders. Vehicles with a military veteran, active duty military personnel or reserve member can enter all Colorado state parks for free in August with proper identification. Other visitors still pay the $7 day use fee.
The day begins at 10 a.m. in the park amphitheater with a brief ceremony of honor and remembrance. The ceremony opens with a combined honor/color guard from American Legion Ute Mountain Post No. 75 from Cortez, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5231 and the Civil Air Patrol Mesa Verde Cadet Squadron from Pleasant View.
The National Anthem will then be sung by Curtis Storm of the Durango Choral Society. Storm, a resident of Cortez, is a lyric tenor and choir director of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Durango.
That will be followed by an ecumenical invocation from Ernest House, Jr. former chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Merv Bergal of Congregation Har Shalom in Durango and the Rev. Rick Gregory, former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Mancos.
Rev. Gregory will then lead a moment of silence followed by taps from a bugle corps, then Jim Lynch on bagpipes performing “Going Home.” The tune is based on Antonin Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony (“The New World”) and is often requested at funerals for military and law enforcement.
Among the scheduled speakers are Captain Adrian Driscoll, troop commander of Colorado State Patrol Troop 5A in Durango, Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane and Scot Elder, park manager for Mancos and Lone Mesa State Parks. Additional speakers may be announced.
Following the ceremony, visitors can stay in the amphitheater for music by “Guitarist At Large” Brett Pejsa. The Four Corners-area musician says he has played “Forty million-bazillion gigs…A lifetime of musical delight!” Other performers will be announced.
Additional music will be provided throughout the day by Lynne Lewis of Rimrock Outfitters and Jim and Joan Harvey, who will perform on various instruments, including guitar and ukulele.
Additional activities for first responders and their families after the ceremony include a free barbecue, games and inter-agency competitions. Visitors also may take advantage of the fishing, boating and hiking opportunities at the park.
Each boat launched in the lake must undergo a free inspection for aquatic nuisance species (ANS), or have a tag from a previous inspection. Boats must also have appropriate safety equipment, including personal flotation devices (life jackets) for each person on board. All children 12 and under must wear their PFDs when near the water or onboard the boats.
This is an opportunity for public safety and military personnel, their families, and the people they serve to honor and remember those who help the community in this unique and sometimes dangerous way.
For more information contact Mancos State Park at (970) 533-7065.
