Beginning in the late 1800s until 1914, Pine Street in Central City was home to a red-light district. Although prostitution was never legal in Central City, it was tolerated. With single miners making up a large portion of the population, apparently business was brisk. Madam Lou Bunch became a wealthy woman catering to those miners and even presumably some of the married ones.

While Bunch’s financial donations to local causes and suspected bribes to authorities kept her in good stead, it was her philanthropy during a tuberculosis epidemic that made her a heroine. Shutting down operations, her brothel was transformed into a makeshift hospital, providing succor for the sick and dying. Many have credited her with saving the city.

For fifty years now, Central City has celebrated her legacy in the form of Madam Lou Bunch Day. On Saturday, June 22, Jimmy Lewis and his band kicked off the festivities at noon with rockin’ numbers such as “Route 66” and Elmore James’ theme-appropriate “Shake Your Moneymaker.” Ex- Sporting House Girl Candace Davis Giunta sang “Ride Sally Ride.”

Throughout the afternoon the Infamous Backroom Cabaret entertained spectators with somewhat risqué routines. The women’s performance accompanied by Peggy Lee’s steamy “Fever” is always a favorite. Borrowing a page from the Moulin Rouge, the audience roared to the dancers’ leg kicks of their lively cancan.

In between the dancing the Colorado Wild Bunch staged gunfights in the middle of the street. Marshal Curly and Sheriff Chicken Creek had finally caught up to an outlaw they’d been doggedly pursuing. As the lawmen bickered about who would collect the reward, gunfire broke out and all three of them were hit and dropped dead. In another gun battle, old lady Gracie confronted Big Mike about the deed to a mine he had sold her that turned out to be worthless. Demanding her money back, when he refused, she pumped him full of lead and recouped her cash from his pocket – justice served up Old West style.

Following a parade, the marquee Bed Races commenced at 3 p.m. Fourteen teams, each comprised of two men and a sporting house girl, would wheel down Main Street. The male rider and male bed pusher changed positions after rounding a barrel at the course’s halfway point before heading back uphill. The obligatory changing of a nightshirt between them cost quite a few teams valuable seconds. The beds could at times be unwieldy, with several of the unusual transports crashing into the barriers along the side.

Dostal Alley has dominated the contest in recent years. Taking first place in 2021, 2022, and 2023, their trio of Blake Boulter, Austin Boulter, and Maclaine Drysdale were clearly the class of the field. Blistering down Main Street without veering far from their intended path, they kept their momentum going until the end, registering a time of 49.3 seconds – a new Madam Lou Bunch Day record.

After the conclusion of the races Central City Mayor Jeremy Fey was bombarded with pies. Anyone who had made a contribution to the Gilpin Arts Association got a crack at him. All in good fun, at the end of the all-out assault, all you could see of his head was the openings of his eyes and mouth. $400 was raised for the cause.

To wrap up an enjoyable day of festivities, attendees danced away the rest of the afternoon and early evening to live music at the Madams’ and Miners’ Ball.

2024 Madam Lou Bunch Day Final Results

Bed Races:

1st Place – Dostal Alley (Team Two) for $500

2nd Place – Dostal Alley (Team One) for $300

3rd Place – The Famous Bonanza Casino ($200)

Best Bed Race Costumes: Century Casino ($100)

Worst in Bed: Gilpin Arts Association

Best Madam: Deb Wightman

Best Dandy Dan: Chuck Fullen

Best Sporting House Girl: Starr Bella

Presented tastefully: From left to right: Dostal Alley’s Blake Boulter, Austin Boulter, and Maclaine Drysdale won the Bed Races in a four-peat. [/caption]