Iconic Salida
Mural

Each year the Salida ArtWalk presents Parade for the Arts. Salida locals dress up in handmade and creative costumes. One of the most iconic is the giant Frida Kahlo Puppet, created by local artist Krista Jarvis. Her giant puppet made its debut during the 2024 ArtWalk parade, and by the following year, it inspired an entire block of a dozen community members walking in matching Frida costumes. The puppet remains a community fixture, spearheading a local movement of giant-puppet crafting ahead of the town's autumn festivities. In the weeks leading up to the parade, the Salida Creative District hosts free public workshops at the Salida Scout Hut. Led by local artists Krista Jarvis and Tina Gramann, community members are invited to use cardboard, tape, and paper-mâché to construct their own large-scale puppet heads and props.

Salida, CO serves as an important local breeding and migration area for the monarch butterfly, supported by local milkweed habitats and community conservation efforts. The town participates in the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge to protect local pollinator habitats and honor the area's connection to monarch butterflies. The monarch butterfly's presence in Salida runs deeper than nature alone — it lends its name to the mountain that has defined the town's winters for nearly a century. A short drive up Monarch Pass and you find yourself at Monarch Mountain. Since opening in 1939, Monarch Mountain has been an important part of the Salida community, originally built through a public works initiative and owned by the city. Over the decades, the independently owned ski resort has supported the local economy through employment, tourism, and outdoor recreation, while maintaining strong ties to the surrounding communities. Continued investments in mountain facilities, youth programs, transportation, and recreational opportunities have helped make skiing and outdoor activities more accessible to residents and visitors alike. Monarch is also deeply involved in the local art community. Every year, in collaboration with the Salida Council for the Arts, Monarch Mountain presents the Monarch Mountain Snowboard Art Show — featuring incredible works of art on retired snowboards in the Base Lodge.

This character represents the Salida Circus, founded by Jennifer Dempsey. The Circus has amazing programs for children of all ages and brings joy to the whole community.

If you've spent any time at all on the streets of Salida, you have surely seen the beloved Salida Giraffe ride by. He first showed up in the Parade for the Species in 2014. He loved Salida so much that he never left! No one is exactly sure who the Giraffe is, but he's said to hang his hat at the Box of Bubbles.

The Ark Valley High Rollers (AVHR) is a recreational flat track roller derby league in Chaffee County, Colorado. They encourage play for fun and for community. The Ark Valley High Rollers league includes skaters from the greater Arkansas Valley area, ages 6 and up. They host local bouts and mix-ups for their adult and youth teams, hold coached practices, and host open skate for all members of the community. They encourage skaters of all skill levels to join their community. Skaters choose their level of contact so everyone can experience the best sport in the world.

(aka high-wheeler, aka penny-farthing) This harks back to a time in Seth's childhood when local artist Jack Chivvis, aka Cactus Jack, would ride his Ordinary bike at the front of most of the many Salida parades. Interestingly, these 19th-century-style tall-front-wheel bicycles were also manufactured right here in Salida in the mid-1980s by local mountain biking pioneer Mike Rust and business partner Don McClung at their shop, Colorado Cyclery. They started manufacturing these high-wheelers in Salida alongside their innovative off-road and mountain bikes (see Mountain Bikers for more about Mike and Don). Rust and his brothers, the "Rolling Rust Brothers," famously rode the hand-built high-wheelers in local parades, St. Patrick's Day events, and even multi-day tours like Ride the Rockies.

Another artist impersonator that often shows up in Salida Artwalk's Parade for the Arts, is seen in the mural riding the Ordinary bike. Many local artists are inspired by this master of Surrealism. Ken Brandon, the owner of The Box of Bubbles specifically embraces the surreal and absurd.

(aka Tenderfoot Mountain, aka Christmas Mountain) Salida's most prominent geologic feature is a cone-shaped hill rising directly above downtown. The very first "S" was placed on the mountain by local high school students in 1926. The Salida High School graduating class of 1932 built a larger 80x50-foot wooden frame and filled it with whitewashed rocks. For decades, incoming high school freshmen maintained it annually. Because the rock structure was prone to shifting, high school teacher Ernest Dunckhorst and his daughter Margaret engineered the modern concrete version. To prevent the massive slabs from sliding down the steep mountain during heavy rain, they drove two tons of scrap steel deep into the rocky hillside before pouring the concrete via a tin flume. Today, the "S" is lit nightly, alternating with a red heart signifying Salida's moniker, "The Heart of the Rockies." Once a year it becomes Colorado's largest electric Christmas tree display. Legend has it that S Mountain was stripped of all its trees by townsfolk gathering Christmas trees. Since then, the town has replaced those trees with a 750-foot glowing Christmas tree outlined by more than 4,500 LED lights. It officially lights up every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

A feature of the annual Salida Fiber Festival in Salida's Riverside Park. Description coming soon.

If you haven't seen any of the robots that live in our little town, you haven't been looking. The creation of local artist Shelby Cox, this stilt-walker robot made it into the mural because she was already downtown.

When Seth was young, long before the river was the playground it is today, under the bridge was prime garter snake territory.

Painting the fireworks over S Mountain in the style of Starry Night.

There are many cats and cat lovers all around Salida. This specific cat happens to be Sarge's best friend.

Artist Seth Brandon's sidekick, known around town as Sarge, earned his honored spot in the round window at the very top of the mural for being the primary supervisor of the Iconic Salida Mural project. Sarge sat on the sidewalk all 27 days of the mural project. He was our ambassador to the onlookers, and was great at enforcing our mandatory park walk breaks every hour..

From the Durby.

The yellow heart.