Red, White and Blue were everywhere in Downtown Idaho Springs for the 4th of July, shops were open and outside, music echoed from one of several bands on the main stage across from Citizens Park.
Kids were entertained by games, a bouncy house, mechanical bull riding, caricature artists, axe throwing, cornhole, and water gun stations – all provided by the Downtown Business and Community Promotion Board, according to Director Sadie Schultz.
Adult beverages also flowed from several outlets downtown which brought the party outside under tents, with most of the benches and tables filled with people.
“We’ve been here a couple of times and they’ve added a lot more this year, the kids are really enjoying themselves,” Lisa Beun, from Wichita, Kan., said with her 11-year-old son Kason.
There was dancing in the park as Elaine Reissan and Neel Gupta from Steamboat Springs enjoyed the music and community and park setting.
“We just stopped for gas and coffee and then Elaine thought we should walk around to check out the 4th of July extravaganza and energy down here,” Gupta said.
It turned out to be an extended stop for coffee and gas.
“It’s nice to just drive an hour outside of Denver and feel like you’re in a small mountain town,” Reissan said.
For many locals it was a reunion of neighbors and friends seeing each other for the first time in a while in an atmosphere that is Idaho Springs.
‘I love it whenever the kids are out having fun, the town’s out. I always love it in the summer when they close (streets) down and you get to walk through,” Idaho Springs resident Cassie Carreon said with her dog Teddy.
Fireworks Steal the Show
At exactly 9:15 p.m. the first of what seemed like hundreds of fireworks were launched, as tradition holds, over the Charlie Taylor Water Wheel on the south side of I-70.
Dazzling colors and patterns of multiple shots exploding at once painted the dark sky for at least 20 minutes.
The explosions bounced and echoed across the valley, the thunderous sound arriving to the ears a second after the flash of bright light lit up the mountains.
The end of the show was obvious as dozens of small and huge projectiles exploded at once with a crescendo lights and booms.
The town fell silent as the last echo faded away.
The brief silence was replaced with yells and cheers of appreciation coming from homes across town where friends and families had gathered to watch the show.
The excitement and cheers from the downtown crowd could be heard blocks away.