Dressed in pinstripe suits and flapper dresses, children and adults gathered around the Mancos Opera House stage - some tentatively, others enthusiastically - learning the Charleston at the Mancos Melt dinner and dance on Saturday night.
"There are more kids on the dance floor than there are adults," Bob Seney commented contentedly Saturday night. After the lessons and performances by Suzanne's School of Dance ended, the kids continued dancing to the smooth sounds of Tyrannosaurus Jazz from Fort Lewis.
Seney attributed the Mancos Melt's success to an emphasis on family-friendly events.
The dance was the culmination of a four-day event that drew wannabe gangsters and flappers to a miniature-golf tournament and kids to a carnival at the library.
The newly reformed Mancos Valley Historical Society was the main beneficiary of the Mancos Melt, which raised about $2,500 for the society.
"I'm so grateful to the melt, it's really going to help us kick-start our projects," said Seney.
The Historical Society hopes to help fund renovations to the Opera House, document the landmarks in town, help keep art in school and start a town museum.
The library carnival drew about 40 kids who participated in a scavenger hunt and created their own version of the Mancos Times using reproductions of illustrations from the 1920s drawn by Eulalie, Mac Neeley's mother. Neeley is a longtime Mancos resident.
The kids also gathered around Darrel Ellis and Midge Kirk for an extending storytime about life in Mancos before running water and supermarkets.
The two fielded questions including "How did you keep the house light without electricity?"
The two painted a picture of a happy but challenging life in Mancos in the 1920s.
At the bed races, an annual favorite, teams pushed beds around grand competing against the clock in the blowing snow to complete tasks like the sponge toss and throwing toilet brushes through toilet seats.
The first-place team, called Five Sheets, took home stays at the Strater Hotel, the General Palmer Hotel, Wine tasting at Eno and $50 gas gift card.
Five Sheets came decked out in full length bathrobes and wigs that helped hold off the snow.
"Coming in appropriate costumes gave us the edge," said Tami Graham
There were many other activities over the weekend, including a wine tasting and fashion show, and all went well, said Terri Dainty, an event organizer with the Historical Society.
mshinn@cortezjournal.com