Mark Your Calendars for the 1st Annual Heritage Days | Friday, May 1st & Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
This two-day event celebrates 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 walking tours, and engaging educational programs, the event offers something for the whole family!
Watch here for additional details and a full schedule of events. Follow us on Facebook!
FREE museum admission both days!
Friday, May 1
12 PM | History of Early Photography – followed by 4″ x 5″ Tin Type photo sessions with Silver and Cyanide Photo Studio – Book Now!
1 PM | Ag Skills Demo: Butter Churning with Dolores FFA
2 PM | From Sheep to Yarn Demo with Dolores Eric Wilson of Southwest Farm to Yarn
2 PM | Printing Press Demo with Jody Chapel of the Mancos Common Press
4 – 6 PM | Moments That Made Us Exhibit Opening
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Walking Tours
Space is limited—select your desired Walking Tour below to view details and register in advance, or call (970) 516-1100 for assistance.
Free Historic Walking Tours
Presented by the Cortez Historic Preservation Board
1 PM | The Downtown District
2:15 PM | Historic Montezuma Avenue
Ticketed Specialty Tours
Hosted by Cortez Tours, proceeds will benefit the Montezuma Heritage Museum. (Locals get 30% off with code MONTEZUMA.)
5:30 AM | Mesa Verde Sunrise Tour at Hawkins Preserve
$5 per ticket goes to the Cortez Cultural Center
7:30 PM | Wild West Ghost Tour
Saturday, May 2
10 AM – 4 PM | Exhibitor Fair featuring demonstrations and family-friendly activities!
10 AM | Sharing History of the Disappointment Country with Marsha Bankston, Portraying Her Great-Great-Great-Grandmother, Lizzy Knight
11 AM | Yesterday’s Stories Presentation
12 PM | Cowboy Music with Rick Randolph
1-3 PM |Ute Stories and Songs with Aldean Ketchum, Ute Mountain Ute Musician and Flute Maker
1 PM | Native American Dance Demo w/ Roach Family (Cortez Cultural Center)
2 PM | Native American Dance Demo w/ Whiteskunk-Whitedirt Family (Cortez Cultural Center)
3 PM | Community-Centered Conservation In Action with the Montezuma Land Conservancy
3-5 PM | Scenes of Montezuma Plein Air Painting Demo with Michele Farrier (Turquoise Raven Art Gallery)
6 PM | Songs of Cortez Showcase (Zu Gallery)
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Walking Tours
Space is limited—select your desired Walking Tour below to view details and register in advance, or call (970) 516-1100 for assistance.
Free Historic Walking Tours
Presented by the Cortez Historic Preservation Board
10:30 AM | The Downtown District
1 PM | Historic Montezuma Avenue
Ticketed Specialty Tours
Hosted by Cortez Tours, proceeds will benefit the Montezuma Heritage Museum. (Locals get 30% off with code MONTEZUMA.)
5:30 AM | Mesa Verde Sunrise Tour at Hawkins Preserve
$5 per ticket goes to the Cortez Cultural Center
5 PM | Family Friendly Wild West Ghost Tour
7:30 PM | Wild West Ghost Tour
Local Exhibitors – Stop by to learn, shop, and connect!
Galloping Goose Historical Society | Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project | Cortez Farmers Market | Mountain Hedgewitch | Dolores High School FFA | Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants | Cortez Historic Preservation Board | Montezuma Land Conservancy | DAR – Sleeping Ute Chapter | Cowboy Forge Blacksmith School | Starhopper Henna | Keith Smith Art | Reuben Richards Native Art | Silver and Cyanide Photo Studio
Enjoy family-friendly fun all day with crafts, coloring pages, and educational trunks that let kids explore history hands-on!
*All programs taking place at the Montezuma Heritage Museum, unless otherwise noted.
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.
Friday, June 26, 2026 | 8 PM
Morefield Amphitheater
In celebration of the 120th anniversary of Mesa Verde National Park, this program explores the lasting impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Discover how CCC crews helped shape the park—building routes like Knife Edge Road and completing key preservation and infrastructure projects that still define the landscape today.
Presented by interpretive ranger Eric Sainio, this program offers a compelling look at the CCC’s enduring legacy.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 2 PM
United Methodist Church Hampton Hall (515 N Park St, Cortez)
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.
Saturday, November 7, 2026 | 12:30 PM
Join us for a delicious meal as we share highlights from the past year and vote in the annual board election. It’s a chance to connect with fellow supporters and celebrate the many ways our members make preserving local history possible!
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.
