*Transhumance A Colorado Tradition - video filmed and edited by Jesse Lasater, Bayfield CO native
The history.
For years, the Lasater family brought their sheep home from the high country to their home in the valley. The beauty within this tradition and the vistas enjoyed along the trail was one the Lasater family wanted to share with their loved ones and community and it was then a tradition was born. In 2000, the Lasater family collaborated with the town and this tradition began. In 2010, the torch was passed to the Brown family and the tradition continues...
Our annual Bayfield Heritage Days and Sheep Trailing event commemorates this special time of year for area ranchers and honors the rural lifestyle our beautiful town of Bayfield was built upon. This is not a reenactment of an historic event. This is Southwest Colorado living history. We’re so glad you could join us!
2024 marks the 25th year of the Bayfield Heritage Days Celebration, an event put on by community volunteers. This year's opening festivities will honor tradition with Saturday's main event - the running of the sheep! The running of the sheep will be followed by a Mill Street parade and a day of fun activities and events at Joe Stephenson Park.
Please help celebrate Bayfield's beautiful heritage and join in on the fun! Thank you to the J. Paul Brown and his family for bringing the stars of the show!
The mix of wary animals and curious spectators is always an adventure. Help us make the experience fun and successful by following our important parade etiquette:
We are dog lovers, but NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED at the Sheep Trailing Parade for the sake of the sheep and the safety of spectators. Please leave your dog(s) at home or in the car for this part of the day. The guard dogs see any other dog as a threat, so it is for your dog’s safety not to be at the parade.
Stay on the curb at all times! If you step into the street, others along the route can’t see and if the sheep see a funnel ahead, it will spook them. It is for YOUR SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF THE SHEEP AND ANIMALS. Don’t jump into the middle of the sheep—even for that perfect photograph. It will frighten the sheep.
Don’t walk through the sheep. Stay on the curb.
Do communicate with a volunteer or a sheep rancher if you spot a problem.
Do bring children BUT keep them with you at all times. Do take pictures BUT only from the side of the parade route.
Do enjoy the experience!
*The Bayfield Heritage Days organization prohibits hostile and antagonizing behavior.
Our annual Bayfield Heritage Days and Sheep Trailing event commemorates this special time of year for area ranchers and honors the rural lifestyle our beautiful town of Bayfield was built upon. This is not a reenactment of an historic event. This is Southwest Colorado living history. We’re so glad you could join us!
2024 marks the 25th year of the Bayfield Heritage Days Celebration, an event put on by community volunteers. This year's opening festivities will honor tradition with Saturday's main event - the running of the sheep! The running of the sheep will be followed by a Mill Street parade and a day of fun activities and events at Joe Stephenson Park.
Please help celebrate Bayfield's beautiful heritage and join in on the fun! Thank you to the J. Paul Brown and his family for bringing the stars of the show!
The mix of wary animals and curious spectators is always an adventure. Help us make the experience fun and successful by following our important parade etiquette:
We are dog lovers, but NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED at the Sheep Trailing Parade for the sake of the sheep and the safety of spectators. Please leave your dog(s) at home or in the car for this part of the day. The guard dogs see any other dog as a threat, so it is for your dog’s safety not to be at the parade.
Stay on the curb at all times! If you step into the street, others along the route can’t see and if the sheep see a funnel ahead, it will spook them. It is for YOUR SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF THE SHEEP AND ANIMALS. Don’t jump into the middle of the sheep—even for that perfect photograph. It will frighten the sheep.
Don’t walk through the sheep. Stay on the curb.
Do communicate with a volunteer or a sheep rancher if you spot a problem.
Do bring children BUT keep them with you at all times. Do take pictures BUT only from the side of the parade route.
Do enjoy the experience!
*The Bayfield Heritage Days organization prohibits hostile and antagonizing behavior.
