GOLDEN, Colo. — A gathering of goldens on National Golden Retriever Day!
Thousands of golden retrievers (and their owners) flocked to Golden this weekend for the city’s annual Goldens in Golden event.
Despite the rain and snow, how could anyone pass up the opportunity for that iconic ‘Goldens in Golden’ picture under the arch?
This year’s gathering saw lots of soggy doggies. While some were locals, many traveled from all over the country to take part in the paw-rty!
“[It’s] his first trip to the snow and to see this golden festival. He's super excited. And so are we!” said Charlie Alfrey, who road tripped from Saint Petersburg, Florida to Colorado with his wife and dog, Boss.
When a friend told them about Goldens in Golden last year, they knew they had to make the trip. Several months of planning later, they finally made it.
“We looked it up and thought, oh my gosh, [thousands of] golden retrievers in one spot. And so we said, ‘We got to do this,’” said Alfrey.
It’s one of the largest golden retriever meetups in the world, with plenty of meetups, photo ops, and dog treat stations.
It started snowing just in time for Goldens in Golden… but that didn’t stop the paw-rty! 🐾 @DenverChannel @VisitGoldenCO #NationalGoldenRetrieverDay #cowx pic.twitter.com/1BoBOkLB7e
— Adria Iraheta (@AdriaOnAir) February 3, 2024
Winter is typically a slow time of year for tourism in Golden, but the golden retriever boom is gold for the old gold rush town.
“In the past, our businesses have reported this is one of their busiest days of the year, even over some of our busy summer months. So it's a huge pick me up. Hotel occupancy is very high at this time,” said Megan Pinson, marketing manager for Visit Golden.
This all may be for the dogs, but it brought plenty of smiles to the humans’ faces, too.
“It's like a big Disneyland for [the dogs]. And yeah, for us, I'd be honest with you, kind of excited about this. It's, it's a vacation for us, too,” laughed Alfrey.
