DATE

Labor Day Weekend
Friday, Aug. 31 through Monday, Sept. 3, 2007

HOURS

Friday: 11:30 am to 10 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10:30 am to 10 pm
Monday: 10:30 am to 8 pm

LOCATION

Civic Center Park, Downtown Denver (intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway)

ADMISSION

FREE!
Tickets must be used to purchase food, beverages, and carnival rides.

A strip of 8 tickets can be purchased for $5. Cash is accepted at all Rocky Mountain News ticket booths and at the carnival ride ticket booths. Checks and credit cards are not accepted. ATMs are located throughout the Festival grounds.

INFO LINE

303-295-6330

Festival of Mountain and Plain … A Taste of Colorado is a community celebration that is produced by and benefits Downtown Denver Events, Inc., the Downtown Denver Partnership family’s community events non-profit organization. The Festival is an opportunity for people throughout the region to come together to experience and appreciate our diverse cultural traditions, and to learn more about our state’s Western heritage. The Festival highlights visual and performing arts in addition to featuring educational programs and culinary demonstrations.

Please Mind the Festival Ground Rules
The following may not be brought into the Festival:
• Alcoholic beverages, beverage containers, glass bottles, food or beverages
• Lawn chairs (except for senior citizens and special needs), coolers, picnic baskets, or carry-ins of any type (back- packs or large bags may be searched)
• Kites, Frisbees, balls or other sports equipment
• Scooters, skateboards, or inline skates
• Pets (except service animals)
• Firearms, weapons, contraband, laser pointers
• Bicycles (please use bike parking operated by BikeDenver at the Festival at Lincoln & 13th Ave or Cherokee &
14 Ave.)

Once you’re here:
• No video or audio recording or still photos during live performances
• No unauthorized vending

Tips for enjoying the Festival:
• Pick up a brochure to find your favorite restaurant, beverage, marketplace booth or band
• Drink responsibly and make sure your group has a designated driver
• Have a meeting place in case you get separated
• Don’t leave children unattended

When you leave the Festival:
• No alcoholic beverages may be taken off Festival grounds
• Please dispose of trash in the receptacles provided and help us leave the neighborhood clean
• If you have lost anything while at the Festival, please visit an information booth to check lost and found
• Come back again!

HISTORY

Festival of Mountain and Plain ... A Taste of Colorado History

1895-1902
Festival of Mountain and Plain was established and held in Downtown Denver's Civic Center Park. Originally a carnival similar to New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, Festival of Mountain and Plain was created by the Chamber of Commerce to boost community spirit and pride following the silver panic of 1893. Local businessmen raised over $35,000 to put on the 3-day event. The Festival included a parade, a masked ball, fireworks from the D & F Tower, and hundreds of trade, social, and civic organization displays, exhibits, and demonstrations. Civic leaders along with their wives and daughters masqueraded as kings, queens, and princesses. Hundreds of people marched inside a block-long, dragon-like monster made of silver cloth. Slithering through the streets, the people sang the serpent's song. Forty thousand visitors rode the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to town to attend the Festival. Everyone hoped to make money during the annual event. Unfortunately, the Festival did not end the depression.

1902
The Festival folded when organizers were unable to obtain financial support. Cold weather and lackluster attendance contributed to its demise.

1912
An attempt was made to revive the event. However, when those efforts failed, committee members poured oil on City Park Lake and set the lake on fire. Competition from Cheyenne Frontier Days and the onset of the First World War made Festival of Mountain and Plain a thing of the past.

1983
Denver Partnership decided to bring back the spirit of the original Festival as the inaugural celebration of the opening of the 16th Street Mall. It was a celebration of Denver and Colorado's heritage, rich cultural and ethnic background, and the lifestyles of the region. The event was a success. Over 100,000 people attended the three-day event in mid-October and enjoyed the historic displays, traditional music and dance, children's rides, and outdoor food festivities (including a pancake breakfast with accompanying melodrama performance).

1984
A Taste of Colorado was added to the Festival of Mountain and Plain name and concept. The expanded event, highlighting the region's favorite restaurants and their specialties, proved an even greater success. The Festival was moved back to Civic Center Park in Downtown Denver. The historic theme was enhanced by the proximity to the Denver Public Library, the Colorado Heritage Center, the State Capitol, and the Denver Art Museum. Thirty-four restaurants, three stages, and 45 arts and crafts booths on the grounds entertained some 175,000 people who attended.

2005
Festival expanded to Lincoln Street, showcasing Lincoln Park and enhancing the event site.

2007
This year marks the 24th Anniversary of A Taste of Colorado. The Festival is a community celebration produced by Downtown Denver Events, Inc.

Festival of Mountain and Plain ... A Taste of Colorado stands proud as the end-of-summer celebration of community pride and spirit in the Denver region. Over 500,000 people make the four-day Festival their Labor Day Weekend celebration and enjoy the offerings of over 50 area restaurants, 250 marketplace artisans and vendors, seven stages, and educational programs promoting the diverse cultural and western heritage of the region — all for no admission fee.