WTF is the ‘Longmonster’ of Longmont? We’re almost afraid to ask

There are monsters creeping around Longmont, but they’re not flying demons or lake-dwelling dinosaurs.

They’re Longmonsters — all 100,000 of them.

While people who live in Colorado are “Coloradans” and those living in Denver are called “Denverites,” the people of Longmont are called “Longmonsters,” creating for an unusual alias for the 100,000 residents living in the Northern Colorado city.

Longmont is so invested in the Longmonster that the city has a quirky green mascot, Monty the Longmonster, who rivals any costumed creature you may have seen on Sesame Street or professional sports teams (looking at you, Philadelphia Flyers Gritty).

But what, exactly, is a Longmonster? And how did the flanneled mascot come about? For our latest edition of our Weekly WTF series, we answer this question that came from our very own staff.

The Longmonster came from the mountain

Longmont officially hit 100,000 residents last year, according to the United States Census Bureau. But the town has a long history dating back to 1871, when a community was created by a group of men from Chicago who wanted to build a town near Denver.

Named after Longs Peak, the tallest nearby mountain, Longmont did not officially become a city until 1861 — and it was almost 150 years until the Longmonster came around.

In the early 2000s, the city paid RTD to run a free bus route around Longmont (which still exists). That bus was painted green with legs under the windows, according to Assistant City Manager Sandra Seader. The early version of the “Longmonster” had arrived.

The name picked up quickly and eventually spread, with the City of Longmont and its residents officially adopting the “Longmonster” title when winning the All-America City Award by the National Civic League in 2018. That same year, the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce created “Proud Longmonster” stickers and distributed them to residents at the Unity in the Community event.

“I love being a Longmonster,” a resident wrote on the R/Longmont subreddit forum under a post about the name.

A few years ago, the city took a step further. “And then Visit Longmont turned it into an actual monster,” Seader says with a laugh.

The fan-crafted, Lovecraftian rep

In 2023, Visit Longmont launched a contest for residents — excuse me, Longmonsters — to create the city’s official mascot. Over 70 ideas were submitted with the city eventually landing on the green-furred monster with a purple flannel and beanie.

By 2024, Monty the Longmonster was officially named.

“Monty embodies everything we love about Longmont — he’s welcoming, fun, vibrant and delightfully quirky,” Visit Longmont said in the announcement. “Monty is here to spread joy and laughter throughout our town, because don’t we all need a bit of humor?”

Now the Longmonster has his own costume and appears at public events throughout Longmont.

Seader even says that the city managed to create an image of Monty during this year’s Fourth of July drone show after unsuccessful attempt for the past two seasons.

Longmont is currently looking for designs for a new city flag. Maybe Monty will be chosen, flying high over the city, watching over his fellow Longmonsters with a toothy grin.

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