Linda Martin, Coal Creek Canyon.  Coal Creek Canyon once again got their burly on at the 7th Annual Mountain Fest, also fondly thought of as “the silly little sister to Frozen Dead Guy Days.” A fundraiser for CCC Park & Rec District, the Mountain Fest celebrates all things Mountain. In the burly, mountain-themed obstacle course, the contestants were asked to drag slash, carry buckets of water over a balance log, build a rock wall, move firewood in a wheelbarrow and put out a pretend fire, just to name a few.

Three live bands took turns entertaining the crowd, while a car show provided awesome eye candy across the way. Vendors, artisans, and info booths took advantage of the crowd consistently rolling in to take part in the festivities, including toilet-seat-horseshoes, of course! Many contests ruled the day, from donut eating, corn hole, and frozen t-shirts to pie baking, home brew, beards and soap whittling. A photo contest included 30 entries, all local shots from our fabulous mountain communities. All winners received prizes plus the Golden Pine Cone of Awesomeness. Kids were kept happy with a bounce house, a hay ride, a craft table to make fake beards, and Popsicles!

With 26 sponsors from CCC, Nederland and Golden, the Park and Rec was able to provide great prizes for the winners of each contest and will retain enough revenue to make a difference this year as they move forward with several goals, including improvements to the ball field they had installed at the local K-8, land acquisition with the help of Boulder and Jeffco Counties, and a journey toward a new, updated Master Plan. The Board has positions open and would love some involvement from their community.

If anyone local to Coal Creek Canyon has interest in enriching the outdoor experience for their neighbors, please visit the website www.cccparkandrec.org/.