Summer Events in the Canyons & Plains Region

Description: Join the People of Southeast Colorado in Celebrating Our Community and Heritage at these Summer Events!


Published: 06/01/2023
Byline: SECO News
Southeast Colorado Canyons & Plains PRESS RELEASE
An Eventful Summer on Tap in the Canyons & Plains Region  
 
La Junta, CO – Southeast Colorado’s Canyons & Plains will host a summer full of events in 2023 from special anniversaries to great races to fairs and festivals. Visitors can plan now to take part in some of the fun.
 
This year’s anniversaries kick-off with the 90th Anniversary of the Koshare Dancers in La Junta on the weekend of June 9 – 11 with a reunion, golf tournament, and a special anniversary performance scheduled for Saturday, June 10 at 7 pm.
 
On the same weekend of June 9 -10, Trinidad will host its annual Santa Fe Trail Days with bands, kids’ games, karaoke contest, a pancake breakfast, a parade, and a duck race on the Purgatoire River.
 
June 17 – 18 sees the Colorado Gravel Grinding Championships come to the Canyons & Plains for the Pony Xpress 160. Since 2014 this has been Colorado’s premier gravel event. Riders traverse quiet gravel roads around Cokedale, just west of Trinidad, featuring rolling foothills, captivating forests, and open plains with stunning views of Fishers Peak.
 
On July 1, the Hemmings Great Race vehicles will roar into Lamar, arriving at the Colorado Welcome Center, starting around 11 am on their cross-country journey from St. Augustine, Florida to Colorado Springs. Antique, vintage, and collector cars participate in this competitive endurance road rally on public highways. Rather than a test of speed, this race tests navigation skills in following a precise course on the long-distance trip.
 
July 4th Join SECO News, Trillion Tree Corps and the American Legion Post #9 for the La Junta Chamber of Commerce Wet & Dry Parade at 10 am, Activities to be announced immediately afterwards at the La Junta City Park, and at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 2 pm to honor our local veterans with a tree-planting, Ceremony, BBQ and Concert with the Buckeye Hill Band! (Watch for Announcements on our websites: trilliontreecorps.org, seconews.org, and musicatthejunction.com)
 
Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site will celebrate an Old-Fashioned Fourth on Tuesday, July 4 with 1840s-era celebrations at the reconstructed trading post on the Santa Fe Trail just east of La Junta. Later in the year Bent’s Old Fort will revisit the stagecoach days of the post with a Living History event on September 8 – 9.
 
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Canyons & Plains summer without a host of fairs and festivals. The 146th Arkansas Valley Fair in Rocky Ford will take place August 16 – 19. This “oldest continuous fair in the state of Colorado” features rodeos, a parade, and the famous watermelon pile – a free watermelon giveaway on Saturday, August 19.
 
During the week prior to that fair, Lamar will be “Ridin’, Ropin’, & Rockin’” at the Sand & Sage Round-Up with livestock shows, rodeos, concerts, and carnival rides from August 7 – 12.
 
September 8-9 join The La Junta Chamber of Commerce, The A.R.T. Project and SECO News as they join together to "Parade Through Time" for the Largest Early Settler's Day Event Ever Spanning Across Downtown La Junta and La Junta City Park! New Additions to the Classic Southeast Colorado Community Celebration will be announced on seconews.org (Watch the Interview)
 
As the calendar turns to fall, the fun continues with the 2nd annual Tarantula Fest September 29 – 30 in La Junta with a parade, vendors, educational programs, and tours to see the male tarantulas on their treks across the prairie looking for mates. (Watch for Announcements on seconews.org for our Tarantula Fest Photo Contest, Photo Booth, Art Show and other Activities at The Music at The Junction Studios in downtown La Junta)
 
That same weekend, the Lifetime Grand Prix “The Rad Dirt Fest” takes over Trinidad with hundreds of bike riders from around the country taking to the rolling, gravel roads in the mountains, canyons, and plains around town.
 
Labor Day weekend sees the Caveman Music Fest hit the Monument Lake Resort outside of Weston, Colorado. Over 20 Americana and Folk Rock bands and artists will play the stage at the lakeside with fishing, hiking, and camping available to attendees.
 
Finally, John Martin Reservoir between Las Animas and Lamar will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the completion of the John Martin Dam with military bands, flyovers, and food vendors on Saturday, October 21.
 
 
Come to the undiscovered corner of Colorado this summer and fall to enjoy all the fun that the Canyons & Plains region has to offer.
 
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