One of the many traditions loved by locals and visitors for nearly fifty years is the Saturday morning Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival parade down Elkhorn Avenue.
But this year, like last year and during the 2020 COVID crisis, the parade will not proceed along Estes’ Main Street. Last year, event organizer Peggy Sue Young chose not to risk holding the parade on Elkhorn Avenue because of the uncertainty about whether the Downtown Estes Loop construction would be finished.
This year, the reasons are financial. The festival and Saturday morning parade are privately owned events not organized by the town, and Young says her company cannot afford the “exorbitant” cost of renting the necessary parade barricades required by the Town.
As concerns grew this week that the parade might not happen, several people contacted the Estes Valley Voice to ask how they could help save it and contribute funds to cover its costs.
Posts on local social media platforms criticized the Town for being stingy and not supporting the event. One commenter wrote, “I heard that the parade was canceled because the city demanded too much money.”
On the Festival’s website, the organization responded to a question:
Q. Is there a parade in Downtown Estes on Saturday morning?
A. This will be the second year without a parade in downtown Estes Park. For many years, the City (sic) of Estes Park supported the festival by sponsoring the parade—providing police officers, road closures, and essential logistical assistance. However, that support is no longer available. It’s important to note that the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival is not a City-sponsored event. We are an independent, Colorado-based nonprofit organization. The current cost quoted to us for private road closures and staffing is an exorbitant amount of money for just two hours—an expense that is not feasible within our festival budget. Until a new sponsor can be secured to cover these costs, the parade will remain on hold. If you’re interested in being on our newly formed Parade Sponsorship Committee, click the blue letters to read more and take action.”
According to Assistant Town Administrator Jason Damweber, the Town has provided police, staffing, overtime, and logistics for the parade but told Young that it would not pay the rental company the $10,000 in direct costs for the necessary security barricades.
“We contribute in-kind services in the form of facility use and staff support to the tune of about $70,000. They do not pay anything at all for the use of our facilities and space, not to mention the staff time from events, police, utilities, etc.” said Damweber.
“Last year and this year, we told them we would continue to provide the same level of support we have in years past, but that we would no longer pay the direct costs for street closures/barricades for the parade. This is, in part, out of fairness to other events. To suggest it only takes two hours to plan for and execute a parade demonstrates the lack of understanding of what a parade entails and what the Town has contributed historically,” Damweber explained.
Damweber also stated that the town does not charge organizations a fee for the Estes Park Police auxiliary members who serve as volunteers for the Town.
Charitable organization status
According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, the Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Highland Festival, Inc., which was formed on Sept. 2, was voluntarily dissolved on Feb. 5, 2020. That same year, a new entity with the same name was established on Jan. 27, 2020.
Although both entities are listed as nonprofit corporations, checking with the SOS and searching for IRS 990 returns on file shows that the organizer has not obtained a 501(c)(3) status to solicit charitable contributions.
A 501(c)(3) is a nonprofit organization recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt because it is organized and operated for charitable purposes. An organization’s IRS 990 returns must be available for public inspection for three years after filing.
To establish a nonprofit organization in Colorado, an entity must first file paperwork as a nonprofit corporation with the Colorado Secretary of State. Then, it must apply for federal tax-exempt status—specifically 501(c)(3)—by submitting Form 1023 to the IRS. Lastly, it must register as a charitable organization with the Colorado Secretary of State for fundraising purposes.
Additionally, the organization must obtain an Employer Identification Number, appoint a board of directors, and apply for state tax exemption. An EIN is a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS that functions like a Social Security number for tax reporting purposes.
The Estes Valley Voice contacted Young this week to ask for the organization’s EIN and IRS status. She did not provide the information but responded, “I am not sure why the tax issue is being asked.”
The organization is currently soliciting donations on its website under the banner of “2025 Keep the Celtic Heritage Alive Donation.” A pull-down menu provides suggested levels of $25, $50, $100, and a custom amount.
Online ticket prices for a one-day festival are $40.10. Premium seats for the International Tattoo event cost $60.80, and general admission tickets range from $29.75 to $55.62. Ticket prices for the folk and Ceilidh rock concerts are $55.62. Tickets for the beginner and master enthusiast Scotch whiskey tasting seminars are $97.02.
Durward’s legacy
The Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival began in 1976 when Young’s father, James Durward, an Estes Park dentist, recognized that the summer tourism season ended with Labor Day weekend.
Durward envisioned that the festival could extend the visitor season into September to support local businesses that depend on tourist dollars. The annual event attracts about 70,000 visitors to Estes, many of whom stay in local lodging, shop at the stores, and dine at area restaurants.
Following Durward’s lead, other organizations established fall events like the Rotary’s Autumn Gold festival and the Town-sponsored Elk Fest, which took advantage of the Estes Valley’s typically great autumn weather and beautiful fall colors.
As a visionary and promoter of Estes, besides creating the Celtic festival, Durward developed properties on West Elkhorn Avenue to attract visitors to shop at the stores on the west end of the street. In 1975, he built the Centennial Plaza and Waterwheel Shops at 239 West Elkhorn and the building across the street at 238 W Elkhorn Ave. The property on the north side of the street includes the Waterwheel and glockenspiel. The building on the south side of the street features a natural rock wall on the inside.
Excellent summary. If the Festival wants the public to donate to help defray the costs of the parade, etc. they should be transparent about their non profit status.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of the Scots festival, we need to have the parade. I would pull the event from Estes if the town doesn’t receive enough revenue to pay for the parade.