Each community has a quirky event that defines it. In Brookfield, Santa arrives via helicopter and lands in a crowded park with Mrs. Claus before taking off across town in a firetruck. Mancos has Burro Fest. Today was Mancos’ fourth annual Burro Fest (but only third actual fest, covid.) We were fortunate to be in town for the inaugural one in 2019 and unanimously agreed we would never miss one. We plan this part of the summers around the fest, making sure to keep the day open as soon as the date is announced.
Burro Fest is a purely Mancos event. Nowhere else in the world does such a festival/competition exist. The premise is simple. 15 burros and their handlers work their way through eight obstacles in the local park. After the tallying of scores each burro is partnered with a local artist and the artist creates a piece based on their assigned burro on the main street of town. There’s fry bread to enjoy, burro poop to avoid, artists to be inspired by, burro (mule) themed drinks, and burros everywhere.
This year’s obstacle course was impressive, eight thematic stations expertly constructed weaving a story that incorporates the local businesses. The burros really struggled with crossing the “river” and going through the saloon doors. The easier tasks of crossing a teeter totter bridge and going through a “canyon” exposed just how stubborn a burro can be. Each burro had just eight minutes to complete them all. Most burros at least attempted most obstacles, but none were successful at them all.
One of my favorite parts of the event is the crowd, which has significantly grown since 2019. Everyone, and I mean everyone in the crowd, assumes they know exactly what the competing burro is thinking. You constantly hear the potential internal thinking of why the heck these burros are refusing to complete the simple tasks. The cheers erupt when a stubborn burro is successful and awws roll across the park when one won’t budge for their handler, even with the bribe of carrots.
The art was incredible this year. It amazes me to see all these artists in action. There are a lot of talented folks the area. We purchased a small burro print, but was tempted by burro pottery, burro glass pieces, and burro blacksmith pieces. All wildly impressive!
If you’re on the fence about whether you want to come visit us, I highly suggest Burro Fest weekend. You may never want to leave.
