It's Memorial Day Weekend! And That Means The Boulder Creek Festival Is Back!

After walking around the Denver Arts Festival this past Saturday, I drove up to Boulder to check out the Boulder Creek Festival, which is held every Memorial Day weekend, along with the Bolder Boulder, that city's famous 10K race. I would usually go on another day, but while weather forecasters said that rain would hold off until around 5:00 P.M. on Saturday, both Sunday and Monday would be quite stormy, and so I decided to play it safe and head up there Saturday afternoon. And from the photograph on the left, you can see that the weather forecasters were not kidding, as storm clouds began to form over the Flatirons.

Despite the threatening weather, the festival was well attended. It features 30 bands on 3 stages, over 200 artisans, and 30 restaurants. I decided to skip the bands and just walk around the festival, doing a bit of peoplewatching as I went. No better place to do that than in Boulder, let me tell you. It takes place along Boulder Creek in downtown's Central Park. I especially liked the fact that many of the booths are actually on the grass areas and under trees, making for a very laid-back vibe, as seen in the photograph on the right.

Boulder is, of course, the home of the University of Colorado, which gives the town a youthful feel, although its population is actually quite diverse, with Exhibit A being the senior citizens seen enjoying the festival in the photograph on the left. The big event for the weekend is, of course, the Bolder Boulder, which takes place every Memorial Day. It is the second largest 10K race in the country and the fifth largest road race in the world, with over 54,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers. Which means it will be damned crowded up there today.

And as the name implies, Boulder Creek does indeed run through the middle of the festival. The headwaters of that creek are located along the Continental Divide, and it eventually flows past the mountain town of Nederland (where hippies settled during the sixties and never left) and through Boulder Canyon into the city. It is an extremely popular spot for outdoor activities such as tubing, fly fishing, and wading. And the good news is that the Boulder Creek Festival continues today until 5:00. You still have time to go! Just don't let those 54,000 runners up there stop you. It's definitely worth the search for a parking spot.