Story by Bob Brockley
Photos by Daniel HUppenthal
Snowdown, Durango's 35-year-old celebration of all things winter, will honor the nerd this year.
For this year's "Get Your Geek On" theme, participants are being encouraged to bring out their pocket protectors, calculators, and thickest glasses.
“It will be easy this year. There are so many different types of geeks- the comic book nerd, the Trekkie, the Star Wars nerd, the Dungeon and Dragons nerd. I’m going as a robot,” said Ashley Aragon, Snowdown Committee Member/Event Coordinator, and F.L.C. Alumni.
Events will kicked off on Wednesday, January 30th, and will run through Sunday, Feb 3.
This year's schedule includes over 100 options, with new additions like the Dummy Ski Jumping, Karaoke, Street Bowling , and a Build Your Own Spaceship Competition.
The 4100 seats for the 11 Snowdown Follies shows sold out weeks ago, according to www.durangofollies.org. Seats are currently available in the daily silent auction at the Bank of the San Juans, and on internet sites at a markup.
The Follies is a popular annual satire performance where local actors, who auditioned and rehearsed throughout the year, perform skits related to the Durango community.
The Abbey simulcast will not air this year. The venue is currently undergoing a change in ownership, as reported in the Durango Herald.
Drinking-age events with big draws will again include the Carver’s Beer Plunge, the Drag Show at the Ranch, the Waiter/waitress Drag Race behind Steamworks, and the Pole-dancing Competition at Colorado Ponga’s, Aragon said.
While the downtown party events continue to be popular, she noted that there is currently a trend of adding fun, new underage events each year.
For the alcohol-free crowd, Aragon recommends the kickball, broomball, and dodge ball tournaments, the outhouse stuffing at Gazpacho’s, and the various gaming competitions.
“About 85 percent of people dress up,” Aragon said, and many of the events will have costume awards.
The complete schedule of events is available athttp://www.snowdown.org/Schedule.html.