Colorado News - The Durango Herald

Videos & Photos

Grand Entry on Friday at Fort Lewis College celebrates the Indigenous community

Photos: Hozhoni Days at Fort Lewis CollegeTribal members come together for two days of celebrating their Indigenous heritage

Photos: Hozhoni Days at Fort Lewis College

Tribal members come together for two days of celebrating their Indigenous heritage

Durango High School girls basketball wins bigDHS girls basketball defeat Montrose in Sweet 16 game at DHS on Wednesday

Durango High School girls basketball wins big

DHS girls basketball defeat Montrose in Sweet 16 game at DHS on Wednesday

Photos: Horsing around

Photos: Winter storm leaves over a foot of snow

Photos: FLC hoops at WhalenSkyhawks women’s and men’s basketball teams lose to Colorado Mesa

Photos: FLC hoops at Whalen

Skyhawks women’s and men’s basketball teams lose to Colorado Mesa

Photos: Fashion at its bestSnowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Fashion at its best

Snowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Snowdown on SaturdaySnowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Photos: Snowdown on Saturday

Snowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Photos: Snowdown Rock-em-Sock-em Snowbots pillow fights

Snowdown Light Parade can boast another successful yearLights flashed, fire trucks wailed and a foam cannon spewed suds

Bright lights, screaming fire trucks and children bundled up so thoroughly it seemed like an army of Michelin men had taken over downtown Durango. Yep. It’s the much anticipated Snowdown light parade, this year distinguished by a crowd of onlookers peppered with scrabble tiles, Clue characters and playing cards.

Locals flocked to Main Avenue on Friday to get a look (and maybe a Smartie or two) at the floats parading through town on various, creatively decorated vehicles. There were some obvious standouts at this year’s board game-themed parade. After a fire truck’s opening sirens came the Purgatory car, toting a brightly lit ski bum moonlighting as a DJ, likely giving the women of Durango some unpleasant déjà vu. Best dressed had to go to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s bulldozer, wearing the most believable Hungry Hungry Hippos costume seen yet. Biggest crowd pleaser? The dancers boogieing to Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” while the crowd sang and wiggled along. But what got the biggest rise out of the onlookers was the white plumes of motorcycle exhaust, courtesy of the Harley-Davidson club. The smell of burning octane was a convincing enough reason for people to briefly unclutch the rails and step away from their coveted positions at the front of the fence. Last but not least, another machine spewing its interior into the crowd: a foam cannon, the first one to make an appearance in the history of Snowdown. Much better received than exhaust, it extracted gleeful screams from kids and adults alike. jbowman@durangoherald.com