Mark Your Calendars for the 1st Annual Heritage Days | Friday, May 1st & Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
This two-day event will celebrate the rich history, culture, and community of Cortez, Montezuma County, and the surrounding region. Featuring iconic local exhibitors, hands-on demonstrations and activities, live music, guided tours, and engaging educational programs, the event will offer something for visitors of all ages!
Additional details and a full schedule of events will be announced soon. See updates first – follow us on Facebook!
Saturday, April 11, 2026 | 2 PM
Bill Harris and Fred Blackburn have spent more than four decades exploring the Colorado Plateau together. In this program, Bill shares stories from the field, highlighting projects such as the Wetherill–Grand Gulch Project and the Rivera Panel recording, and what they discovered along the way.
Bill is a longtime Montrose, Colorado, resident, outdoorsman, and dedicated member and past leader of the Chipeta Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society. An avid birder and former outdoors columnist for the Montrose Daily Press, his presentation, Traipsing Across the Colorado Plateau – (Mis)Adventures with Fred, reflects on decades of shared exploration and discovery.
Saturday, June 20, 2026 | 2 PM
Mancos Opera House (136 W Grand Ave)
An engaging talk on the life and legacy of Butch Cassidy with historian Andrew Gulliford and adventurer Brett Davis. Through a modern mountain bike expedition tracing the old haunts of Cassidy and his Wild Bunch along the outlaw trail, they explore the line between history and legend—and why the outlaw era still captivates the American imagination.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 2 PM
Explore the history and significance of pinto bean farming on the Great Sage Plain with Bob Bernhart and Steve Garcher. Drawing on personal experience and regional knowledge, they will discuss the role pinto beans have played in shaping the agricultural economy and cultural identity of the region.
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Join the Montezuma Heritage Museum and the Cortez Cultural Center for an evening of delicious food and western-themed entertainment.
More details coming soon!
Saturday, September 19, 2026 | 2 PM
Join members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Aldean Ketchum, Helen Munoz, and the Whiskers Family for Circle of Culture, a program sharing traditional knowledge, arts, and lifeways.
Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 1 PM
Explore Mitchell Springs’ rich prehistoric and historic past with Dave Dove and Barbara Stagg. The program will include a guided field trip to Mitchell Springs.
Capacity will be limited, and registration information will be available soon.
All public programs are free unless otherwise noted. A $5 suggested donation supports future programming.
Programs are typically held at the museum, 35 S. Chestnut Street, unless otherwise specified.
We, along with our regional partners, have a variety of wonderful resources in development and programs planned for America’s 250th and Colorado’s 150th celebrations in 2026! Click on the images above to learn more about what is going on and gain access to resources from across the region, state, and nation.
Want to get a head start? Enjoy the Mountains and Mesas: A Southwest Colorado Regional Reading List
Bookmark this Calendar of Events to keep up with all the exciting initiatives planned by the museum and our regional partners all year long!
Checkout the Southwest Colorado Passport online – This pocket-sized guide, modeled after a travel passport, will enable you and your children, or grandchildren, to travel to places that will bring our history and heritage to vibrant life! All 4th graders will get a physical copy at school, homeschool parents can pick up a copy at the museum or local libraries.
More to Commemorate – Here in Montezuma County, we will also be celebrating Cortez’s 140th and Mesa Verde National Park’s 120th anniversary
This readers theater performance, featuring fifteen local actors, was inspired by a 1920s poem, In Memory of Pioneers, by early Yellow Jacket homesteader Augustus “Gus” Stevenson. The script was developed from oral histories, memoirs, letters, and more from the museum’s archives.
