CREEDE — Like other Valley communities, Creede relies heavily on the busy summer months for income and after a year of canceled events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Creede and Mineral County are hoping for a better year ahead.

Summer is just around the corner and with it comes hope for a year full of activities and a chance to get back to some form of normalcy for the small mountain town.

In a letter issued to Creede and Mineral County Chamber of Commerce members, Director Kathleen Murphy expressed her hope that events in Creede will take place this summer. The chamber has worked diligently with local health officials throughout the past year and most of the annual events in the area were canceled out of a precaution of safety.

The letter to members states, “We’re all anticipating that 2021 will surpass the year known as 2020. While it’s a little too early to know how the year will shape up, we are moving forward with plans for our annual events like the Taste of Creede, the Creede Donkey Dash & Gravity Derby Weekend, the Rock and Mineral Show, the Creede Mountain Run, the Salsa Fiesta, Cruisin’ the Canyon Fall Color Car Show, Chocolate Festival. The list goes on. Be sure to visit the events page for information about the goings on in Creede.”

With the county retaining low COVID-19 numbers, the chamber, local organizations and local businesses are anticipating a much different summer this year compared to the summer of 2020. In an odd turn of events, the Creede and Mineral County area was inundated with tourism early in the season and though it was a difficult year as far as annual events went, local business remained high thanks to the commerce brought in by guests.

The first event that is on the calendar is the annual Taste of Creede. It takes place during Memorial Day weekend. Though that is a ways off, it is never too soon to begin planning for summer. This year the festival is celebrating 33 years of delicious food, amazing art and is a great way to say hello to warm days and soft, easy nights in the Colorado mountains.

Mineral County and the chamber have made access to current information easy to find on both www.colorado.gov/mineralcountycolorado and www.creede.com.