Elbert Day Festival is bigger than ever

9-year-old Bella raises money for Maine coon cat

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

e annual Elbert Day Festival was held on July 8 in the historic town of Elbert, Colorado. It was a sunny, fun- lled day full of food, music, vendors and activities for the whole family, all backdropped by the iconic Russell Gates Mercantile Co. building.

e event started out with breakfast provided by the Elbert Woman’s Club and followed up with an exciting air show with local pilots doing stunts overhead.

e crowd favorite parade was a big hit this year. Classic cars, rodeo royalty and rst responder vehicles made their way down North Elbert Road. A new addition to the festival this year was the Gold Canyon Gun ghters based out of Colorado Springs. e “Olde West reenactment group” made their way along the parade route acting out classic shoot-’em-up scenes for the crowd.

e event was packed with funlled events including the all-ages pancake race, foam party, egg toss, watermelon seed spitting contest, tractor pull and stick horse rodeo. e festival also had several food vendors, a beer garden and two live bands. With all of the new events and the live entertainment, the 2023 Elbert Day Festival was bigger and busier than ever before.

“I absolutely love the Elbert Day

Festival. I don’t even live here and I come every year,” said Jim Bukner of Parker. “I feel like Elbert is the quintessential American small town. Like something from a movie. It is a really fun place.”

Nine-year-old Bella McElroy of Elbert was at the festival selling handmade cozies and lemonade as part of her new business, “Love in A Cup.” She sells what she calls “cozy cups,” large Mason jars with her handmade cozies wrapped around. She also sold homemade lemonade and snacks.

At the time of the festival, she had been in business for only two weeks but had already been successful in raising some money to achieve her one big goal: to buy a Maine coon cat. When asked what inspired her to start her business, Bella explained her want for a u y feline companion.

“I heard about this cat breed called a Maine coon and I really want one,” said Bella. “ ey are really expensive though, so to raise money to buy one, I started `Love in A Cup.’”

Once word got around the festival about Bella’s goal, more and more people stopped by her lemonade stand to support her. She plans to bring “Love in A Cup” to the Elbert County Fair later this month.

“She’s been preparing to sell her cozy cups for over a year now,” said Jesie McElroy, mom of Bella. “She is so creative and so friendly. It’s the perfect t for her.”

To donate to Bella and her dream of owning a Maine coon cat, you can donate to her Venmo at @loveinacup1614

To keep up to date with future events in the Town of Elbert, please visit elberttowncommittee.com.

To learn more about the Gold Canyon Gun ghters, visit facebook. com/GoldCanyonGun ghters.