Path Clear for Event to Return to Cripple Creek
Rick Langenberg
Unless the city of Cripple Creek incurs a major financial disaster, the sounds and sights of hundreds and maybe thousands of roaring hogs cruising through town, armed with American flags and veteran-related décor and medals, will become a familiar fixture in mid-August for at least the next two summers.
According to all indications, and if area elected leaders have their say, the Salute to American Veterans Rally will return again, and again.
“We want to come back,” said Jim Wear, president of ProPromotions, the company that has sponsored the event over the last few decades. “But if we don’t, we really feel that we ended on a high note. This year’s Veterans Rally went very well.” On a personal note, Jim and Pam Wear, the main operators of ProPromotions, would like the rally to continue for at least two more years, so the festival can celebrate the 35th anniversary of the rally and 40th year of the POW/MIA recognition ride.
A preliminary decision on the 2026 rally will probably occur this fall during city budget sessions, as the council discusses its special events and marketing schedule for the following year. A final verdict won’t occur until the end of the year.
Preliminary reports indicate that the council is very supportive of the Salute Rally returning to its previous status as a signature event on the city’s regular festival schedule. At the same time, money is one of the top concerns, when it comes to hosting special events, a situation that led to the Rally’s exit from Cripple Creek on two previous occasions. The Rally also has hit tough political terrain in the past, with changing groups of elected leaders, who often had vastly different views on the benefits of the Salute festival and biker rally.
Most elected leaders, civic figures and residents now are giving the return of the rally to Cripple Creek for the first time since 2019 a hearty thumbs-up.
The 2025 event was touted as a definite success, highlighted by big crowds, a huge motorcycle procession that extended for eight miles, the return of the veteran’s parade, along with the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall. The festival’s popularity even commanded much discussion at the most recent county commissioners meeting. “It was an eye-watering event,” said commissioners Bob Campbell and Dan Williams. “It is back,” said an enthused Williams, when discussing the 2025 Rally and its future in Cripple Creek.
“It just feels right, here (in Cripple Creek),” said Williams. Williams, one of the keynote speakers at the main ceremony, also contended that the event signals a much needed positive message during a tough political time on both the national and local battlefront. He also noted that he personally viewed many motorcycle procession riders visiting local casinos and area businesses. “The idea that bikers don’t visit casinos is just not true,” said Williams. “The town was packed.”
Jim Wear expressed similar views. He cited a volley of compliments the organizers received. But the overwhelming sentiment was: “Everybody was just happy that the Rally returned to Cripple Creek,” said Wear. He said the organizers appreciated Woodland Park’s support, as the City Above the Clouds hosted the Rally for four years. But in reality, Cripple Creek just offered a better place, with its typography, open terrain, downtown setup and festival-driven attitude. The ProPromotions leader admitted that the two locations aren’t “on the same planet,” as far as what they can offer.
From a safety perspective, Wear says the 2025 Salute Rally occurred with no major incidents or accidents. Many area officials were impressed with the length of the motorcycle procession, an event that probably ranks as the one of the event’s main crowd pleasers. The procession offers viewers a chance to become part of the Rally, whether they can make the trek to Cripple Creek or not.
Wear said that the recognition ride generated twice as many participants compared to the last few years, when no formal ceremonies occurred in Cripple Creek. This factor was cited by many locals on social media outlets, with some reported counts, claiming that the procession (extending from Woodland Park to Cripple Creek) featured 2,000-plus motorcycles. Wear estimates that the event attracted at least 10,000 people.
Local business operators have different views on the crowd counts, with most saying it was much better than recent years, but short of the Rally’s heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Most are optimistic that larger crowds will occur, if the rally continues to be held in Cripple Creek.
“We didn’t do anything different from what we have done in the past. But this year we were able to do a veteran’s parade, which we could not do in Woodland Park,” said Wear.
The main ceremony at city park honored a World War II veteran and former POW, who are both over the ages of 100.
Vietnam Wall a Big Hit
Another popular addition was the hosting of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Traveling Wall display at the CC/V High School athletic field. The Wall featured a smaller version of the display in Washington D.C. that is one of the top attractions in the nation’s capital. Even today, flowers and photos decorate many of the wall columns, listing all of the 50,000-plus casualties who died during this tragic, multi-decade war.
The Memorial Traveling Wall display, though, features details of a variety of conflicts the America military was involved in. One of the more emotional displays provides a tribute to the casualties and heroes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and rescue attempts.
Another Wall highlight was the addition of the Honor Bell, a 1,000-pound bronze instrument, sponsored by the Colorado-based Honor Bell Foundation, giving many veterans a final salute. The bell is often tolled at public ceremonies and funeral rites for veterans.
Throughout the duration of the Rally, veterans got a chance to toll the bell in appreciation of their service.
