Dead Fun

Every quaint little mountain town needs a festival. Nederland has one — but the town doesn’t celebrate mining heritage, flowers, fruit, beer or mushrooms. Instead, as the Northern Hemisphere begins to tilt back toward the sun, as the days lengthen and spring stirs in the air, Nederland throws its annual Frozen Dead Guy Days weekend-long shindig to celebrate, well, its frozen dead guy, Grandpa Bredo. (It’s a really long story, fully available on Nederland’s website, involving deportation, cryogenic freezing, psychics and an ice man who’s just as dedicated as any postal carrier out there.)

The festival kicks off today with microbrews and live music, an opening ceremony, ghost stories, the Ice Blue Ball (with Grandpa look-alike and Ice Queen costume contests) and a midnight champagne tour spent with the frozen dead guy himself. Other favorites are back for the weekend, including the Polar Plunge, coffin races and much more; the fun continues through Sunday.

Visit www.nederlandchamber.org or call 720-374-6742.
Fri., March 6, 3-7 p.m.; Sat., March 7, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., March 8, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., 2009