ESTES PARK, Colo. — Frozen Dead Guy Days is back from the dead.
Organizers of the famous mountain festival announced its cancellation last month, but it's getting a second life thanks to Visit Estes Park and the owner of another Colorado icon – the Stanley Hotel.
For 2023, the three-day festival will move from Nederland to Estes Park with tentative dates set for St. Patrick's Day weekend, March 17-19.
The owner of the Stanley Hotel, John Cullen, is the driving force behind the rescue of the festival, according to Visit Estes Park. The Stanley will be the host hotel for the festival, and proceeds will benefit workforce housing and child care in Estes Park.
Frozen Dead Guy Days pays homage to a Norwegian man who was cryogenically frozen after his death and is still stored in the town of Nederland to this day. The festival includes events like coffin races, frozen turkey bowling and ice carving.
Last month, festival organizers said the 2023 event was canceled "due to numerous factors including our own operational hurdles returning after a two-year COVID hiatus, a lack of partnership with the Town of Nederland, and the challenges of large event production on the safety and security fronts."
On Friday, Visit Estes Park said that the festival had outgrown its roots in Nederland: "Our plan is to keep the festival's unique and weird vibe while also elevating it."
They're also applying for a grant from the State of Colorado that was designed during the pandemic to save events and festivals, the organization said.
The tentative plan is for the Stanley Hotel to host the Blue Ball and for events and music performances to take place at the Estes Park Events Complex.
Frozen Dead Guy Days was canceled due to the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021. More than 20,000 people attended the festival when it returned in 2022, organizers said.
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