By Linda Jones
This small – and conveniently close – mountain community generates an exciting schedule of fun events throughout the summer. Incorporate some of these events into your visits to Colorado’s gambling capital.
Thomas House kitchen shows the wealth of nostalgia and will be open beginning May 29. Photos by Linda Jones.
MAY
May 29 – all five museum tours open in Central City. The Gilpin Historical Society opens its three museums and also leads tours of the Teller House and Central City Opera House. At the Gilpin History Museum, a community celebration of the Society’s 40th anniversary will be held from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. with free hamburgers, hot dogs, cake and beverages and the museum charge for this day only will be 40 cents. The Thomas House will also be open from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and for the first time since the 1970s, the restored Coeur d’Alene Mine will be open for tours, also 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tours of the Teller House and Opera House will begin at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Special exhibit at the History Museum this summer is “Drinking, Gambling and Prostitution in Central City.” All tours & exhibits open through Labor Day.
JUNE
June 4 and 5 - Gilpin County Flea Market will be held at the county barn and fairgrounds, 240 Norton Drive. Enjoy food and 50 booths, all day long on both days.
Peak to Peak Rotary 7th annual Duck Race in North Clear Creek is set for July 24.
June 12 - High Tea at the Stroehle House, 231 Chase St., Black Hawk at 2 p.m. A three-course luncheon in the parlor and dining room of this historic home and a program on Ladies of the Tenderloin by the author, Linda Wommack will be presented.
June 19 – Annual Lou Bunch Day street celebration with madams, sporting house girls, Dandy Dans, brass bed races down Main Street, dancing, music and food. The all-day affair concludes with a ball that evening at Teller House.
June 24 – Central City Opera opens with presentation of Flower Girls in Teller House Gardens, dancing in the street, opening night of Madama Butterfly and Yellow Rose Ball in Teller House.
JULY
July 24 – Peak to Peak Rotary 7th annual Duck Race in North Clear Creek at 2 p.m. Band and voting for Best Dressed Fleet on the Mardi Gras patio beginning at 1 p.m.
July 31 – Central City 2nd annual Film Festival in historic venues: Williams Stables, Gilpin County Courthouse & Central City Opera House. Films begin at 11 a.m. VIP Reception at 6 p.m. on lawn of Thomas House.
AUGUST
Aug. 1 - Colorado Day will be celebrated on the lawn of the Stroehle House, 231 Chase St. in Black Hawk, with presentations by the new state’s first Congressional delegation (All came from Black Hawk or Central City) and food.
The annual Cemetery Crawl is planned for Aug. 28 at Masonic Cemetery in Central City.
Aug. 21 & 22 – 18th annual Gilpin County Fair at fairgrounds, 240 Norton in mid-county. Enjoy dozens of vendors, food, free rides for children, a junior rodeo, bands and entertainment. Ride the free Connector from either gambling town.
Aug. 28 – Annual Cemetery Crawl at 2 p.m. at Masonic Cemetery in Central City. This popular historical event introduces a dozen inhabitants buried in this hilltop location, all with entertaining stories of pioneer life.
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 11 - High Tea in the Stroehle House parlor, 231 Chase Street, Black Hawk, 2 p.m. A three-course luncheon precedes the presentation by selected pioneers from the Cemetery Crawl.
OCTOBER
Saturday nights in October - Creepy Crawls. Meet some of Central’s infamous ghosts beginning at 7 p.m.
