To honor those who served in the armed forces, Dolores RE-4A and Mancos RE-6 school districts are hosting special Veterans Day events that all are invited to attend.
Meanwhile, Cortez will have its annual Veterans Day parade on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. on Montezuma Avenue. That day, the American Legion will also host events all day, starting with a breakfast starting at 7 a.m. and a dance from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
On Thursday, Nov. 9, Mancos fifth graders are hosting a special pancake breakfast in the district cafeteria from 7:30-9 a.m. They will be serving pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, fruit, milk, coffee and juice for attendees.
Entrance is $2 per person, and all veterans can enter the breakfast for free.
On Monday, Nov. 13, Dolores middle school and high school will be presenting a Dolores Veterans Day program in the high school main gym starting at 10 a.m.
This program, which has been going on for over 20 years now, will present music, poetry and art to honor veterans.
“We try to do this every year and bring in as many veterans from the local community as we can,” Dolores music teacher Bentley Monk said.
Monk, who has been leading the event for the last three years, said the event is free and open to all in the community who wish to attend. He said he hopes events like this one will help “spread music and art throughout the community.”
As a sneak peek into the music program, Monk said his high school band will perform "The Star-Spangled Banner,“ “America the Beautiful” and the songs for each military branch. The choir also will perform the national anthem.
When veterans carry their flags into the gym, his guitar class will play “This Land Is Your Land.”
Students in grades six through 12 will write poetry and short stories, as well as create artwork that will be spoken or displayed at the program.
Monk and his music program will host other concerts and programs in December leading up to the Christmas season.
