By Jenelle Syverson
The 40th Annual Colorfest turned out to be a gorgeous weekend of hot-air balloons, music, local cuisine, brewers and distillers, and the 250/150 Celebratory Drone Light Show, all complemented by sunshine, welcome showers, community and color.
The Passport to Pagosa featured a few new culinary talents along with some previous favorites. Winners included Coyote Moon for Best Vegetarian, Dublin Crust for Most Original, Patria for Most Flavorful, People’s Choice and Best Decorated Booth, and Natalee’s Artisan Micro Bakery for Best Sweet Indulgence.
Pilots and crew joined in the tent for their reception, adding to the festivities. Maxwell Miller rounded out the evening with his lovely musical stylings, which went down as well as the wine selection.
Weather blessed the pilots Saturday morning with gentle winds that allowed a full sky of color, along with some splashing and dashing in the river during Breakfast with Balloons, while runners got colored for a good cause during the Color Run.
The evening brought the Tylor Brandon Band and Bo De Pena, along with brewers and distillers, for dancing and tasting before an outstanding balloon glow featuring eight of our generous pilots and their crews. Riff Raff took home the People’s Choice Award for Brewers, while 1874 Distillery won the Distillers’ People’s Choice Award.
A once-in-a-lifetime drone show as a highlight for 250 years of U.S. history and 150 years of Colorado history and culture, along with scenes celebrating our local Pagosa community. It made for a memorable ending, with the balloons still glowing and firing up to emphasize the celebration.
Sunday brought more colorful skies over the west side of Pagosa to wrap up the weekend.
None of these community events would be possible without the support of the community itself.
So, a HUGE thank you goes to our sponsors, lodging partners, pilots, restaurants, brewers, distillers, musicians and the most volunteers we have seen yet, including, in no particular order:
Darren and Lindy Gant, Ryan Fay, Beverly and Ed Chester, Kim Collins, Paula and Andy Byra, Robert and Anne Farris, Tammy Koenings, Kelly Spence, Tricia and Dave Frank, Denver and Katie Dobbins, Nusi Hughes, Dana LeBeau, Kelly Hausler, Shayla Wayne, Davilyn Valdez, Jerry and Vicki Jones, the Denens, Art Koenings, Mike Kincade, Jennifer Brown, Robert Melton, Davin Montoya, Mark Douthey, David Keese, Mark LeBeau, Oz Blanchard, Carissa McPeak and her husband, Julie Gurule, Brenda Alexander, Lorretta Paniagua, Kelly Maestas, David Harris, Longinos Gonzalez, Emily Lashbrooke, Cynthia Sperry, the entire middle school track team and their coaches, the entire wrestling team and their coaches, and the high school and its maintenance staff.
And a special thank you and farewell to our outgoing Events Coordinator, Angela Maxey. Best wishes to you on your new adventure with your husband and your new Macn Wagn truck! Tasty travels! To them and to all!
Jenelle Syverson is Events Coordinator with the Pagosa Area Chamber of Commerce.