DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Two major summer events are drawing crowds to Douglas County this weekend, bringing economic boosts, community celebrations and maybe a few traffic headaches.
Parker is celebrating the 50th Parker Days Festival, while Larkspur is welcoming back the Colorado Renaissance Festival for its 49th year.
In Parker, business owners Jennifer Black of Black+Haus Tavern, and Susan Bertocchi of Kilwins, say the festival brings a significant financial lift.
"I would say over the weekend it's probably 10x bigger," Black shared.
Black has lived in Parker since 2010 and says Parker Days is the event for the community.
"Parker is very keen on tradition, and this is a very big tradition for them," Black said.
But both Black and Bertocchi say the bigger draw is the sense of community the festival creates.
"We love seeing families come back, come back again and again and again, and I've actually seen children grow up here," Bertocchi said.
Bertocchi added that thousands of people will come to Parker for the four-day event, and that can be overwhelming.
But she and her team practice the Lion King mantra of Hakuna Matata.
"We've learned not to stress at all," Bertocchi said. "We just come with our smile to work."
In Larkspur, Matthew Brooks, owner and chef at the Larkspur Pizzeria and Cafe, says the Renaissance Festival — kicking off Saturday and running through Aug. 10 — is critical to his business during the summer months.
"These next few months, June, July, and August, are our busiest time, and we basically make the most money during that time," Brooks said.
Brooks says the festival brings a reliable wave of customers — including vendors and workers from the fairgrounds.
"We also get bombarded with the people that work at the fair, so that closes at 6:30 (p.m.) and then by the time they close down their booths, or whatever they have going on, they all come here around 7:30-8 (p.m.) and hit us for the last hour, so it's almost double our sales just in the last two hours," Brooks said.
He also values the loyal, returning crowd the festival brings each year.
"The people that come every year, we build camaraderie, and certain people come here, so we depend on them to come back every year," Brooks said.
Larkspur resident Tina Adkins, whose family has called Larkspur home since the 1800s, says she looks forward to the festival every year.
But Adkins says the event does come with one recurring frustration.
"The drawback is the traffic," Adkins said.
Adkins and Brooks told Denver7's Douglas County Reporter Tyler Melito that visitors to the fair park in residential neighborhoods, block driveways and walk through people's yards to reach the festivities.
Still, longtime residents have found ways to work around it.
"We learn as residents when to leave and when to come, so it's okay to leave in the morning, but you don't want to come back until later on," Adkins said.
Melito took those concerns to Renaissance Festival officials, who responded by phone.
They said parking and traffic concerns were addressed two years ago and that no neighborhood roads are open to Renaissance Festival traffic, as they work closely with the town and county to ensure everyone gets in and out quickly and safely.
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