WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GOLDEN TODAY?
8AM-12PM Shred-A-Thon @ Sheriff’s Office Headquarters (map)
The JCSO is proud to join with Metro Denver Crime Stoppers, Fox 31 / KDVR, Iron Mountain and other metro area law enforcement to help prevent identity theft by holding our annual Shred-a-thons at three law enforcement locations throughout the metro Denver area.
There will be no charge for the event, however, donations are encouraged and go directly to the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports local law enforcement agencies by offering cash awards to individuals who can help solve crime and submit tips through our tip line 720.913.STOP (7867). All tipsters remain anonymous.
8AM Saturday Morning Run and Social Walk @ Golden History Park
9AM-4PM Slash Collection @ Tincup Ridge Park (map)
Jefferson County cycles their slash collection operation to various places around the county. This weekend it’s in Golden.
Any size truck or trailer is welcome at Jefferson County Slash Collection sites. Dump fees are based on six cubic yards (162 cubic feet) of material: six yards is one load. The cost to drop off a single load is $20. Credit cards only. This is equivalent to:
Truck bed full to truck cab height
Trailer up to eight feet long by five feet wide by four feet high
Loads outside these parameters will be charged accordingly
9AM-4PM Table Runner Quilting for Newbies @ Golden Quilt Company
10AM-4PM Sip & Shop Golden @ Golden Visitors Center
The Golden Hayride, in partnership with the Golden Visitors Center and Golden Chamber of Commerce, is bringing a unique all day shopping experience to downtown Golden on Saturday, May 20, 2023- Sip & Shop Golden!
Sip & Shop Golden is a day of discounts and treats at participating Golden businesses. Tickets are $16 and include:
- A Sip & Shop bracelet, which gets you the discount and treat at each participating shop
- A map of participating Sip & Shop businesses
- A Sip & Shop reusable shopping bag
- A Sip & Shop passport to get marked off at each shop you stop at, which you’ll turn in at the end of the event to be entered for awesome prize drawings!
The Golden Hayride will also be available throughout the event to provide rides up and down Washington Avenue.
10AM-3PM Brunch at the Rose @ Buffalo Rose
10AM-noon Breakfast Burritos @ The Golden Mill
10AM-3PM Saturday Train Rides @ Colorado Railroad Museum
10:15AM Family Time @ Golden Library
10:30AM-3PM Sewing Bee @ First Presbyterian Church of Golden
12-1PM Omega-3 Recipes for Optimal Health @ Natural Grocers
12-6PM Rocky Mountain Tree Festival @ New Terrain
Help us raise money to plant trees in areas affected by fires and floods in our beautiful state of Colorado. The event is FREE and we will have incredible live music, tasty beer, art vendors, food trucks and, as always, very good times. Just check out the insane lineup we have for you! More information
1-4PM Nature Journal Club: Sketching Wildflowers @ Lookout Mountain Nature Center
3-4PM Make Something: Marble Magnets @ Golden Library
6-8:30PM Golden Comedy Hour with Armando Anto @ American Mountaineering Center
Join us tonight at The Mountaineering Center for a night of comedy, laughter and a little music! Our first show features headlining comedian Armando Anto & other local performers! Armando Anto was born and raised in France. He began studying classical violin at the French National Conservatory at the age of 5. Following his twin muses, music and comedy, he has established himself as a standup comedian in Los Angeles. You might have seen Armando on the 2016 season of America’s Got Talent or on NBC’s Bring the Funny in 2019. Check out his most recent Dry Bar Comedy Special that released this year!
6PM Colorado Summit Ultimate Frisbee Game @ Marv Kay Stadium
7:30PM The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies @ Miners Alley Playhouse
See the complete calendar of events.
LIVE MUSIC
11AM-2PM Erik Hall & Magoo @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
11:30AM Lucas Wolf @ Tributary Food Hall
12PM So Go Spring Fling – Jesh Yancey and the High Hopes @ Coda Brewing
1PM Brian Hornbuckle Band @ Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
4-8PM 2nd Time Around @ Wrigley’s
5-8PM Live Music @ Eddy Taproom
5:30-8:30PM The Great Salmon Famine @ Goosetown Station
6-8PM Rose Ganache @ Morris & Mae
6PM Wylie Jones @ Over Yonder
7-10PM Bunny Blake @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
9PM Karaoke @ Ace Hi Tavern
GOLDEN HISTORY MOMENT
Lions Park proudly bears the name and logo of the Golden Lions Club. The park sign at 10th and Maple includes a portrait of Roy Claar, one of the founders of our local Lions Club. The community has largely forgotten how long it took us to decide on that name.
The Colorado Transcript used many names to refer to the park over the years. A 1953 article called it “Golden’s City Park.” A 1962 article remarked that both “Carpenter Park” (after a former Mayor) and “Memorial Park” had been suggested. The Transcript called it “Carpenter Park” throughout 1962.
In 1964, the paper stated definitively that the park was called “Kiwanis Memorial Park,” but went on to say that many were still calling it “Golden City Park.” In June of 1965, the Transcript called it “Golden Memorial Park.” The next month they called it “City Park.” In April of 1966 it was back to “Kiwanis park.”
So what’s the background on all of these names? The Park evolved gradually, over several years, and a lot of citizen labor brought it into being.
Several things were happening in Golden in 1953. A new highway was going to be built, going into Clear Creek Canyon (now called Highway 6). This was going to give many tourists a view of our “back yard,” where we put our unattractive things–notably the town dump. We also had a new water treatment plant, and suddenly it seemed unappetizing to store our garbage so close to our drinking water. So we closed the town dump in 1953.
The Baby Boom was also off to a big start in 1953. America became very kid- and family-conscious, and began to think of recreational facilities they could build for kids.
In 1952 community members decided that we should have a fishing pond for our youngsters, and felt that one of the holding ponds left from our previous pumping station should be used for that purpose. The Transcript warned, “the hole is 22 feet deep and so icy cold beneath the surface water that children could easily be given cramps. Also the water is untreated and might contain harmful bacteria.” Those conditions didn’t seem to deter anyone, but that winter a citizen decided that the kids needed a skating pond, so he used his tractor and dug a shallow pond. The ice skating was a hit with all ages, so it remained in use, whenever we got a hard freeze, well into the 1970s.
The following spring, the City decided to use the new, shallow pond as a fishing hole, rather than the death trap 22′ deep one. The state stocked the pond, and it was a popular recreation spot for kids for the next 50 years.
By the early 60s, the Kiwanis Club was working hard to clear the land for recreational uses. They built the campground next to the water treatment plant. They cleaned out brush and bought picnic tables and installed fireplaces.
In 1960, the citizens approved funding for a new municipal center on 10th Street. The first thing they built was a new outdoor pool, at 10th & Illinois.
In 1966, the City purchased the land between the outdoor pool and the water treatment plant, and at that point, the Lions Club got involved. They provided labor and financed some of the equipment for the tennis courts and the ball fields.
The Optimists Club developed the playground, purchasing all the equipment.
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) fixed up a triangle of land just off Washington Avenue, next to the Creek. They bought picnic tables and planted trees every year on Arbor Day.
Most of the town’s leaders were members of one of those service clubs, and there was some good-natured rivalry between them. So why weren’t the different sections named after the groups that developed them–the Kiwanis campground, the Optimists playground, the DAR triangle park, and the Lions Club athletic park? I don’t know. The matter was discussed during many City Council meetings, including this one in 1972:
Lion’s Club member Mike Giele…referred to the park as “Lions Park.” Wait a minute,” said Mayor Dave Crawford, a member of the Golden Kiwanis Club, “remember the council hasn’t officially named that park yet.” The remark drew a scowl from one other councilman, Don Eckberg, a member of the Lions Club, but laughter from the rest of those present.
Golden Transcript – April 28, 1972
Competition between the clubs grew so heated that someone suggested they let the Oddfellows (still another service club) run the City for a while.
For whatever reason, in 1976 the long-running debate over the name of the park was suddenly over. The Lions came to Council and asked permission to post a sign proclaiming the area to be Lions Park. The motion passed, but the Mayor (a Kiwanis Club member) suggested that the signs be limited in size to 6″x12″.
Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
