It’s hard to tell if this is next-level desperation, or a genius move on the part of the residents of Nederland, Colorado.
Their tiny lake town, with a population of just 1,445, draws more than 20 thousand visitors once per year in celebration of a frozen corpse. “Frozen Dead Guy Days,” the bluntly-named three-day festival, was invented 16 years ago by then-chamber of commerce president Teresa Crush-Warren. Her beloved little town had a pathetic tourism turnout. Something it did have, however, was one weird — albeit, dead — resident.
From the festival website:
The home-grown frosty fest pays homage to Bredo Morstol, who is frozen in a state of suspended animation and housed in a Tuff Shed on dry ice high above Nederland. Thousands of adventurous, life enthusiasts come to participate in Colorado’s “most frigidly fun festival” and view the events along with local, national and international media and entertainment.
Yep, a cryogenically-frozen man is much cause for celebration in Nederland.
People show up to partake in the festival’s variety of wacky games and entertainment, including a polar plunge, a frozen salmon toss, musical acts and a costume ball, Reuters reports. There’s even a “coffin race,” where the ambitious not-yet-dead build their own boxes to sled through the streets. All in Morstol’s memory.
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Someday, the Frozen Dead Guy might wake up from his cryogenic sleep, as he hoped to do when he was put into suspended animation in 1989, and take part in his own festival. Until then, residents and thousands of tourists will keep the party warm in his honor.
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