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A view from a building roof in the 2500 block of West Colorado Avenue shows about two-thirds of the roughly 200-strong Dance Mile throng as they make their way west en route from Bancroft Park/24th Street to 28th Street and back (actually just under a mile in distance). At the far right is the back part of the large, music-generating vehicle that led the way. The vertical yellow banners saying "Dance Mile" on either side of the vehicle were being held up by event coordinators so participants would know how far forward they could go.
Westside Pioneer photo

Who were all those colorful, dancing people on West Colorado Avenue the evening of Oct. 10?

Youngsters at the front of the Dance Mile contingent show some spirit as the participants return east on the avenue, crossing 27th Street. They started and finished at Bancroft Park.
Westside Pioneer photo
       Approximately 200 people in matching greenish-yellow bibs danced/romped/strolled/shuffled behind a slow-moving, music-blasting vehicle up and down closed-off Colorado Avenue Saturday evening, Oct. 10 for an event called the Dance Mile. The trek from Bancroft Park to 28th Street and back lasted over a half-hour, watched with curiosity by various merchants and visitors to Old Colorado City.
       The dancers also gathered before and after the avenue happening for dancing-related activities in the park, which had been rented for the occasion and was temporarily barricaded for that purpose. In all, the event lasted about three hours.
       The Dance Mile was open to anyone paying between about $20 and $35 a person (depending on how early the registration was), and each was given a bib to wear. Other types of dress-up, such as tutus, necklaces, hats, masks, scarves and face paint, were optional.
       The concept originated with arts supporters in Portland, Maine in 2014. As stated on the Dance Mile website, “This event is all about fun, dancing, and celebrating the CITY YOU LIVE IN! The Dance Mile is here to make the world more fun.”
       Proceeds from the Old Colorado City event will go to two national nonprofits, as identified on the Dance Mile website. These are Dizzy Feet Foundation, which supports dance education; and the Life Is Good Foundation, which emphasizes optimism in supporting professionals working with hard-luck children.
       Colorado Springs was one of four Dance Mile cities this year. The others were Chicago, Minneapolis and Portland, Maine.
       This was the second year for a Dance Mile in the Springs. In October 2014, it occurred in the downtown.

Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 10/12/15; Community: Arts)

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