Teller/Ute Pass Area Gears Up for Record Surge of Weekend Festivities
Trevor Phipps
A record surge of visitors and locals are expected to invade the local high country this weekend for an unprecedented slew of Independence-Day festivities, special shows and patriotic ceremonies.
For the first time in years, the Fourth of July holiday, especially famous in mountain towns, will occur on a Friday. This opens the door for a weekend packed full of events, a scenario capped by concerts, live music, fireworks’ shows, signature art displays and old-fashion fun. This could become the most action-filled weekend of our 2025 “Summer of Fun.”
This year, the area will feature events that have been popular for decades as well as the inaugural America’s Mountain Music Festival, slated to occur on Saturday. Cripple Creek has also added extra events to its usual July 4th offerings, with their street festival, celebrating the Fourth on both Friday and Saturday.
For many locals, the holiday festivities will kick off at the Old Fashioned Fourth of July celebration in Woodland Park’s Memorial Park. Starting as early as 8 a.m. the festivities begin.
Throughout the day, Memorial Park will host food trucks and other vendors during the festivities. Games and activities taking place during the Fourth include a pie eating contest, a watermelon eating contest, three-on-three basketball, tug of war, sack races, a fishing derby, a dunk tank and an All-American Costume Parade, which is new this year. The Arts and Crafts Market and the children’s entrepreneur market will also be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Then at 1 p.m, the Ute Pass Historical Society (UPHS) puts on their annual cemetery crawl at the Woodland Park Cemetery. More than half a dozen figures from Woodland Park’s past will come alive to tell their stories. “Come step back into the past and learn about some of the founding families of our little town,” UPHS board member and event organizer Pat Hyslop said. “Learn about the pioneer spirit of homesteading.”
This sets the stage for the next big UPHS event, which will take place on July 19 and 20. This is the Marigreen Pines tour during which residents and visitors can get an exclusive look at the historic property in Cascade. This year, the event will start at the Joyland Church in Green Mountain Falls, opening the door for event-goers to check out the businesses in Green Mountain Falls. Tours will be held between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday (July 19) and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday (July 20).
The July 4th festivities in Woodland Park then culminate with the Symphony Above the Clouds concert, kicking off at 5:30 p.m. The Woodland Park Wind Symphony, featuring Gus Meza, will take the stage until 8:30 p.m. with UPHS’s Pay Hyslop serving as guest conductor. This year marks the second year in a row during which the symphony took place on the actual Fourth of July holiday.
Then after the symphony, fireworks are scheduled to be launched from the Woodland Park High School property shortly after sunset.
America’s Mountain Music Festival
This year marks the first annual America’s Mountain Music Festival, slated to take place at the old Woodland Station property near the development of the new Tava House project. The inaugural event’s gates open at noon on July 5 and John Jones, general manager of TMJ, will serve as the event’s MC.
Ned LeDoux, the singer-songwriter and son of country legend Chris LeDoux, will headline the music festival. LeDoux has infused all of his records with realistic stories of life as a cowboy, his relationship with music royalty, and the pain and joy that infuses his work. Additional festival highlights will be performances by world-renown artist Michael Martin Murphey, Curtis Grimes and Jon Wolfe.
The festival will also spotlight Colorado favorites Jon Chandler, a multi-talented 7th generation Coloradan and a three-time Spur Award winning author with Western Writers of America; and Ernie Martinez, a Denver native and instrumentalist who was inducted into the Colorado Blue Grass Hall of Honor, and awarded the International Western Music Association’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2018.
Plus, A Cowboy’s Legacy will be joining in the festivities. They are an ensemble of Woodland Park locals Tom and Donna Hatton, Evie Gutierrez, Hatton’s granddaughter, and Dan Park.
Currently, the event is still seeking volunteers, who will get a free t-shirt and the chance to watch parts of the show. Those interested in volunteering can sign up on their website at AmericasMountainFestival.com.
Cripple Creek and Green Mountain Falls
Southern Teller has always celebrated the Fourth in style, and this tradition will feature an extra exclamation point in 2025, with no shortage of events, and a pyrotechnical celebration to remember.
The Creek Heritage Center will have vendors during their art show and provide a good spot to view the fireworks. The street festival this year will take place on Friday and Saturday for the nation’s 249th birthday and it will include family games, food and drink vendors, donkeys and live music. Fireworks will take place at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday night only. The fireworks show in Cripple Creek is regarded as one of the best in southern Colorado. For the first time in years, the town is equipped with events on both the July 4 and July 5 to get more visitors to stay in town.
Down the Pass in Green Mountain Falls, the Independence Day gala represents a main highlight of the 17th annual Green Box Arts Festival, which showcases a full lineup of live music and cultural performances, classes and workshops, community events, guided hikes and art displays. The festival on Friday features a block party with Aerial Aura and the Badda Boom Brass Band from 6 to 9 p.m. The town will then hold its water lantern launch at 9 p.m. at Gazebo Lake Park. Earlier in the day, the popular mayor’s forum occurs at noon at the Church in the Wildwood. For a full list of events visit https://greenboxarts.
