The Journal

Mancos Creative District will host the Mancos BurroFest at noon June 19 in downtown Mancos. The daylong, free, family-friendly festival features a wide variety of burro-centric activities.

The festival will kick off with the Grand Entry in Boyle Park and feature 15 costumed burros and their handlers participating in a variety of challenges on an obstacle course, according to a news release from Anne Beach. The burros range in size from miniature to mammoth and in age from 3 years old to 27 years old.

A framed, limited-edition giclee of “The Burro Brigade” by Veryl Goodnight, is the grand prize. The painting is of seven burros that participated in the 2019 Mancos BurroFest. Goodnight’s career began by sculpting horses in snow and advanced to sculpting five over life-size bronze horses that are in a Presidential Library. In 2016 she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame for 50 years of portraying the American West in bronze and paint. View her work online at www.verylgoodnight.com.

Immediately following the obstacle course race and awards ceremony, each burro, their handler and their assigned artist will move to an individual canopy on Grand Avenue. Many demonstrations will be interactive and will include painting and drawing, sculpting, lino-block printing and leather tooling.

Artists included in this years event and featured in local galleries are Veryl Goodnight, Susan Hediger Matteson, Brad Goodell, Marilyn Kroeker, Elizabeth Kinahan, Lille Diane, Miki Harder, TJ Zark, Jan Wright, Samantha Combs, Karen Kristin, Betsey Krill and Page Holland.

For more information, visit www.mancoscreativedistrict.com.