Start your 4th of July Celebrations on Saturday, July 2 at the Street Dance and Drone Show. The festivities start at 6:00 pm at the Durango Transit Center Parking Lot and entrance is free. Dance to live music by the MC Curry Trio from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm and Desert Child from 7:45 pm to 10:00 pm. Choose a dinner from Juicy’s Shanty, The Crazy Coop, Taco’s La Carranza or SubVerSion. Find the Ska Brewing tent for a beer, or step next door to the Coca Cola tent for water or a soft drink.
This is a family friendly event. Balloon animals, face painting, and cornhole competitions are part of the evening’s festivities. Alys Hansen of Star Hopper Art will be onsite creating exquisite henna tattoos.
The grand finale for the evening is the long-awaited Drone Shone. Verge Aero Drone Show Company will light up the skies of Durango with a 140-drone show. The show starts promptly at 10:00 pm and will last approximately 12 minutes. Make sure you are in a great viewing area before 10:00 pm so that you don’t miss the show!
The map below shows the approximate location of the show, and the prime viewing area. Yes, you might be able to see the show outside of this quadrant. However, since this is the first time a drone show has happened in Durango, the organizers aren’t exactly sure how far you can be away from this selected area and still see the images. At some distance and angle in each direction, the view will be of lights, without discernable images.
Viewers should expect to see the lighted drones take off from Greenmount Cemetery, fly to the designated show zone and then move into formations, forming images and words. Ellen Babers, of Parks and Recreation Community Events notes, “From the preview renderings I have seen, I think the entire show will be fascinating to watch. Without telling too many secrets, I encourage people to watch closely – later in the show the drones fly very intricate patterns and you can see it all in 3 dimensions.”
Viewers in the Transit Center Parking Lot will also hear a soundtrack that accompanies the drone show. Entry into the Transit Center Parking lot is pedestrian only and is free. People are encouraged to bring their camping or lawn chairs and find a space to sit and watch the show.
Please note: Greenmount Cemetery and Road will be closed at 5:00 pm on Saturday, July 2. The drone show will launch from Greenmount Cemetery. The show cannot and will not fly over people. For all the Durango citizens who have watched the fireworks in the past from Greenmount, this is NOT the same type of show. Viewers can not see the show from the side, rear or under the drones. The only place to see the drone images is from the east of the show area.
For more information, contact Ellen Babers 970-375-7325 or via email at ellen.babers@durangogov.org
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