Creek Festival draws thousands By Katy Human
Camera Staff Writer
Hundreds of people cheered as a gaggle of plastic yellow ducks bobbed around a corner in Boulder Creek and came into view of the Duck Race finish line.
Monday's sunny, warm weather drew thousands to the fifteenth annual Boulder Creek Festival, a Memorial Day weekend celebration with music, crafts, games and other events.
The crowds made the festival a success for many vendors such as Elisabeth Lang, a Fort Collins jeweler who had her best sales year.
"This was a little bit better than last year, and last year was double my other years," said Lang, who has sold jewelry at the Creek Fest for seven years.
About 4,000 people purchased ducks for the annual Duck Race — that's just about average, said Colleen Fitzgerald, one of the organizers — but many more people crowded the edges of the creek Monday than in years past.
The Duck Race earned about $18,000 for EXPAND, a program of the city's Parks and Recreation Department for people with disabilities. Fitzgerald, program supervisor, said her department will spend the profit on tandem bikes, water skis and other adaptive sports equipment — "bigger item equipment."
Fitzgerald's husband, Steve Herz, normally kayaks down with the rubber ducks, a giant duck head over his head and chest. But Boulder Creek was too low to kayak safely with limited visibility, Herz said. He stood in the creek Monday, cheering along with the crowd.
Kids played in the creek all day, and dozens of people walked or carried puppies through the crowded craft and food stalls.
But there were some somber moments.
During a sparsely attended Memorial Day service at the bandshell in the morning, Lana Wellington talked about the "unthinkable" events of Sept. 11 and thanked members of the U.S. military, past and present, for their sacrifices.
As National Guard jets roared over Folsom Field, the few dozen heads bowed in prayer turned skyward.
Contact Katy Human at (303) 473-1364 or humank@thedailycamera.com.
May 28, 2002
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