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Perpetual smiles frozen to faces at 'Dead Guy' fest

5,000 celebrants sling turkeys, fish, vie in coffin race

By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 10, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Dylan Kunz, 10, of Gilpin County, left, and Logan Berger, 10, of Arvada, dodge a frozen turkey as it plows through water bottles.

Photo by Photos By Brian Lehmann © Special To The Rocky

Dylan Kunz, 10, of Gilpin County, left, and Logan Berger, 10, of Arvada, dodge a frozen turkey as it plows through water bottles.

Ice Queen Amy Hessner comes under assault from her two children, Carmela Hessner, 5, left, and Rhode Hessner, 7.

Ice Queen Amy Hessner comes under assault from her two children, Carmela Hessner, 5, left, and Rhode Hessner, 7.

Bredo Morstoel

Bredo Morstoel

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Nancy Stubbs lined up the shot like a veteran bowler as she clutched a frozen 5-pound turkey and let it rip.

Strike! Ten 9-ounce water bottles tumbled like bowling pins.

"I was on a bowling team when I was in high school because that's where all the guys were," the Nederland woman said with a satisfying grin.

Stubbs' bowling-for-buzzards technique wasn't enough Sunday to land her team, Lance and the Mother Pluckers, first-place in the second annual Frozen Turkey Bowling competition at the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival.

The bragging rights and coveted Stage Stop T-shirt went instead to a rag-tag team from Estes Park, the Instigators, who entered on a whim and a dare after a day of skiing in Eldora.

The four friends heard about the quirky, yet internationally known, festival in Nederland while on the slopes. But why would anyone want to spend a Sunday afternoon slinging turkeys?

"For the glory, honor, bragging rights and the T-shirt," said Tim Rische. "Plus, it's been a lot of fun."

The three-day festival kicked off Friday and was packed with music performances, story telling, parades, a salmon toss, a coffin race and other mindless contests in which anything frozen was tossed for T-shirts or cash prizes ranging up to $300.

Paul Sadows, of Nederland, won the salmon toss event, hurling a 15-pound fish 46 feet, shot put-style. His team also won the coffin race, bagging a cool $300.

Organizers said the festival attracted roughly 5,000 people from across the country.

"I guess when you live out in Nederland and Rollinsville you need something like this to entertain yourself," said Joann Upcott, of Michigan. "It's just a riot, and believe it or not, I flew in here for the whole thing."

The belle of the ball

Amy Hessner of Ward pulled out all the stops Sunday to win the Ice Queen crown. She did it by lifting her dress, not once, but throughout the festival to shake her tail feathers.

She toured the festival in a blue bob-styled wig and a hand-crafted gown made of white monkey's fur. Battery-powered, flashing blue lights highlighted pieces of her wedding dress.

"I love the fact I get to dress up," said the 33-year-old mother of two. "The underpants of my dress are from my wedding dress. Now how many women can say they've worn their wedding dress at least 10 times in a row?"

Why is there a Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival?

Nederland gained international attention in 1994 when news broke that it was the home of Norway's deceased Bredo Morstoel, who was frozen and being stored on his grandson's property.

His family had him frozen for cryonic storage shortly after he suffered a heart attack in 1975, hoping to some day revive him.

The town folks lovingly nicknamed Morstoel "Grandpa Bredo" not long after it was discovered that his body was moved to Nederland from a cryonics facility in California in 1993.

In 1994, horrified Nederland officials passed an emergency ordinance to make it illegal to keep dead human or animal bodies or parts on one's property. His body was eventually moved to a metal shed and then laid to rest somewhere on the Continental Divide overlooking Nederland.

The flap over the Frozen Dead Guy put the town on the map. Years after the flurry of activity and attention subsided, town leaders decided in 2002 that it was time to hold a festival in honor of Grandpa Bredo to help bolster business during the winter months.

"It's a quirky little festival, but when you have cabin fever, anything that gets people out is good for the soul," said Lance Smeltekop, 42, of Nederland.

Comments

  • March 19, 2008

    5:17 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    TheDenverB writes:

    no, it just wouldn't make sense as the frozen dead guy is not part of the history of Breck.

    Enjoy Url festival.