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Hayden Daze begins Friday

Festival to conclude town's centennial celebrations

Brandon Gee
Play director Kathy Deepe, left, gives advice to Belle Mazzola at the Hayden Town Hall on Tuesday during a rehearsal for a play to be performed during the upcoming Hayden Daze celebration this weekend.
Brian Ray

Hayden Daze events

Friday

8 a.m. Hayden Daze Golf Tournament; Yampa Valley Golf Course in Craig

6 p.m. American Legion BBQ; Hayden Town Park

8 p.m. Street dance featuring the Hot Posse Band; Hayden Town Park

Saturday

7 to 9 a.m. Lions Club Pancake Breakfast; Hayden Town Park

11 a.m. Shrine Parade; Jefferson Avenue

12 p.m. Shrine BBQ featuring entertainment by Washboard Annie and the Blue Rooster Band, a dunk tank, a rock climbing wall, Stretch the nine-foot clown, face paint and airbrush tattoos; Hayden Town Park

6 p.m. Centennial Celebration potluck dinner honoring past and present mayors and Town Board members; Routt County Fairgrounds exhibit hall

6:30 p.m. Performance of "A Journey Down Walker Lane;" Routt County Fairgrounds exhibit hall

9 p.m. Fireworks; watch from Routt County Fairgrounds grandstand

Sunday

7 to 10 a.m. Bob Robinson Memorial Pancake Breakfast; Hayden Town Park

— Hayden’s biggest celebration of the year kicks off this weekend under a new name, but organizers expect the same old fun for the long-standing tradition.

Hayden Daze is a combination of the former Colorado Days festival sponsored by the Hayden Chamber of Commerce and the town-sponsored Sum-mer Fest. The chamber is in the midst of a reorganization, so the town is combining and sponsoring both events under the new name. The festival also will conclude Hayden’s centennial celebration; a dinner honoring Hayden’s past mayors and Town Board members is scheduled for Saturday night.

Director of Parks and Recreation Kathy Hockett said it’s neat to see so many entities coming together to support the celebration. The American Legion, Lions Club and Shriners are among the organizations sponsoring events this weekend. A benefit for 7-year-old Taylen Zabel also will be part of the festival.



Taylen was diagnosed with a highly malignant brain tumor known as medulloblastoma on April 9. The tumor was removed April 12. Taylen recently completed radiation treatment and will begin chemotherapy later this month. During the festival Saturday, friends of the Zabels will host benefit events to help the family with the medical expenses associated with Taylen’s treatment. There will be a yard sale, silent auction, dunk tank and live auction.

Hockett said she expects a very large turnout at Hayden Daze.



“It’s mostly about celebrating our Hayden town heritage and getting together with our neighbors, which includes Craig and Steamboat neighbors,” Hockett said.

A large turnout is not expected, however, for the Hayden Daze Golf Tournament on Friday morning. Hockett said the deadline to sign up for the tournament has been extended until 4 p.m. today in hopes of registering more teams. The entry fee for the four-person scramble is $80 and includes a shirt and golf balls. Cart and green fees must be paid separately to Yampa Valley Golf Course in Craig. The tournament begins at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start. There will be cash prizes for first through third places and other prizes and drawings. Proceeds will benefit Hayden Parks and Recreation youth programs.

The deadline to enter Saturday morning’s Hayden Daze parade is 4 p.m. Thursday. The parade’s theme is “Hayden’s Historical Happenings.”

Hayden’s history also will be chronicled in a play during Saturday night’s Centennial Celebration at the Routt County Fairgrounds exhibit hall. The play, “A Journey Down Walker Lane,” was written by Kathy Deepe and will be performed by Hayden elementary and middle school students. Deepe said the play will commemorate the men and women who were most influential in Hayden in the early 1900s. She said the play is a spoof of a reality TV show.

“History can be pretty ding-dang dry,” Deepe said. “This might add some humor to it.”

Hockett said the town still is planning to set off fireworks Saturday night despite the persistently ripe conditions for wildfires. She said the town has received clearance from West Routt Fire for the fireworks, and that they will be set off from the future site of Dry Creek Park, which currently is under construction and is mostly a dirt field free of grass and other flammable materials.

For more information on Hayden Daze or to sign up for the golf tournament or parade, contact Hockett at 276-3741 or khockett@amigo.net.

– To reach Brandon Gee, call 871-4210

or e-mail bgee@steamboatpilot.com


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