We’re approaching our state’s 139th birthday, and to celebrate all those candles, the History Colorado museum in Denver will be free to the public on Aug. 1.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, the center at 1200 Broadway will offer food, music, dance and — naturally — exhibits on how Colorado’s past has shaped the state and its residents today.
The festival will include demonstrations on blacksmithing, adobe brick making, gold mining, chalk art, alpaca fiber arts, beekeeping and roping. There will also be trick roping, Mestizo dancers and a vaquero demonstration.
There will be attractions for music buffs, too.
History Colorado’s staff are celebrating the “Colorado Sound,” the history of music in the state. From 1 p.m.-2 p.m., a “Tiny Library Concert,” also free, will be held in the intimate Stephen H. Hart Library & Research Center on the center’s second floor. The concert will feature live, acoustic music by the Boulder-based bluegrass band .
From 10 a.m.-3 p.m., curators throughout the museum will host tables featuring artifacts from the collection that document the , including instruments, photographs, recordings and concert posters.
For the record, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the proclamation that made Colorado the 38th state on Aug. 1, 1876.
For more information on the event, visit .
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp
