Certain Fourth of July traditions are resolute: fireworks, a given; picnics and parades, without question.
And for those who choose to celebrate our country’s birthday in the high country, add a couple more anniversaries to the day’s festivities – the 20th anniversary of the Arts and Crafts Festival and the 25th anniversary of Carl Topilow tenure as conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra.
The Arts and Crafts Festival in Breckenridge has garnered a reputation that rivals Denver’s classic event in Cherry Creek.
Of the more than 400 entries in this year’s festival, only 135 artists and artisans have been jury-selected to exhibit their work at the July 4-6 event.
Nearly 50 artists are from Colorado, while other exhibitors are from 20 other states.
Two words are most often heard at past festivals: quality and affordability.
Expect this year’s festival to follow suit in all categories – watercolors, acrylics, oils, metal wall hangings, woodturnings, hand- blown and stained glass, sculptures in bronze and stone, photography, pottery, fiber, hand-painted clothing, jewelry and a variety of mixed-media artwork.
The artists and craftsmen will present their creations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day on the festival grounds at North Main and Wellington streets. This holiday tradition is sponsored by Team Summit Ski and Snowboard Club, and the Breckenridge Art Fairs.
Topilow will celebrate his 25th anniversary as conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra, which has performed in the Breckenridge Music Festival for more than a decade. The 90-member NRO includes musicians from the four corners of America. Each year, through auditions, Topilow selects the artists to perform in an orchestra that has become the forefront of summer musical entertainment.
Under Topilow’s direction, the NRO has appeared in the nation’s capital at the Kennedy Center, at the Olympic Festival in Korea, in Taiwan and Japan, for Pope John Paul II’s 1993 visit to Denver and at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va.
On July 4, the NRO will present a free holiday concert in the Riverwalk Center. This Independence Day tradition at 8:30 p.m. is a perfect prelude to the launch of fireworks from Peak 9 of the Ten Mile Mountain Range.
(The NRO continues its concert series throughout the summer with scheduled performances at the Breckenridge Riverwalk Center.)
All day long on Independence Day, classic festivities will mark the holiday. The Blue River Plaza will be the site of family and children’s activities. Hearthstone Catering will provide food and libations on the Riverwalk Center Lawn.
The Big Fourth parade will get underway at 11 a.m. Cyclists competing in the Firecracker 50 Mountain Bike Race will lead the parade down Main Street, then take off up the mountain to pedal 50 miles in the high country.
A special highlight this year will be veterans of World War II’s 10th Mountain Division, who will march in the parade.
After the parade, a bronze sculpture dedicated to the division will be unveiled at noon, honoring the bravery of the mountaineering soldiers who captured a strategic peak in Italy, which helped turn the tide of the war. The members of the 10th trained at Camp Hale, not far from Breckenridge.
Also at noon, Breckenridge’s Red, White & Blue Fire Department will host “kid-friendly” water fights on Main Street. All who want to get wet are welcome.
The Riverwalk Center will start jumping at 2 p.m., when jazz saxophonist Paul Taylor grooves during a free concert.
There’s no lack of Independence Day activities in Breckenridge, where summer has arrived, finally. Locals celebrate the season as much as the holiday.
Best reserve ahead for the big holiday weekend.
Lillian Ross is a freelance writer who lives in Howard.
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If you go
Breckenridge is 85 miles west of Denver via Interstate 70 to Frisco, and south on Colorado 9.
For more information on the town and its activities, call 877-864-0868, or go to www.gobreck.com.
To request a schedule of summer performances in the Breckenridge Music Festival, call 970-453-9142.
To make lodging reservations in Breckenridge, call 1-888-697-7824, or go to www.breckvacations.com.
