EDITOR’S DESK: Parading to Old Colorado City
Manitou Springs is a quaint little town, a lot like Old Colorado City in terms of being one of the area's last bastions of
independent business retailers.
![]() It's interesting, too, that when you go to Manitou, the merchants invariably ask how business is doing in Old Colorado City, and when you talk to retailers here they are keenly interested in how Manitou is doing. The overall opinion seems to be that the grass is greener - i.e., the other place is perceived as doing a lot better than those in that place think it actually is. Another way to measure the appeal of an area is by how well its major events do. About the only really big event in Manitou is the annual Pikes Peak Marathon in August, in which hordes of personal-best seekers jog or walk uphill, leaving a sea of orange rinds in their wake. As for other Manitou events, certain media elements (we won't name names) seem to get twitter-pated over fruitcake tosses and coffins on wheels, but come on, those promotions don't attract anywhere near the people Old Colorado City does for Territory Days (140,000 over three days) or the St. Patrick's Day Parade (a record 30,000 people this year). , Even the Good Times Car Show (estimated at 4,000 people last Aug. 22) is getting up there. Speaking of the parade, you could easily assume that the rest of the region was on pause during its two-hour run March 12. To cram 30,000 people into 10 blocks of one street at one time is no small deal (nice organizing work, O'Donnells!). A certain media element (which ran no photo of the event) might disagree. But that's a story for another day. - K.J. |