[This article has been updated to correct a misspelled name. –ed]
For the second year, the Mineral Springs Foundation – in partnership with SunWater Spa, Manitou Springs Heritage Center, the Pikes Peak Bulletin, and Smokebrush Foundation – will host the annual Waterfest event, a family-friendly celebration of the mineral springs after which Manitou Springs is named.
Throughout history, the springs have served different roles. To indigenous peoples, they were sacred, having medicinal uses and conferring spiritual benefits. Later, local bathhouses used the water for soaking and relaxation.
Each spring differs in taste due to their varying mineral content.
Since 1987, the Mineral Springs Foundation nonprofit has existed to repair, maintain, and educate the public about the eight springs around town.
The day’s festivities will begin at 10 a.m. with a series of talks at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center on the history of the Manitou spa scene as well as talks on the medicinal, spiritual, and scientific elements of mineral water.
Lyn Ettinger-Harwell, publisher of the Pikes Peak Bulletin and one of the event’s organizers, explained that part of the Foundation’s mission is about promoting stewardship of the resources we have, as well as sharing well-being and community.
“It’s a good time to share community and our water. Water is life,” he added.
Ettinger-Harwell, who also has a culinary background as a chef, highlighted that new to this year is the potluck lunch, which will also be sponsored by the Woman’s Club of Manitou Springs. The potluck will take place at Mansions Park and will also feature a light-hearted competition with awards on the best dish made with mineral-springs water.
Ettinger-Harwell, whose favorite is Twin Spring, personally believes that the springs’ different tastes speak not only to the different mineral content in each, but also the unique needs of each person.
“There’s a water source for everyone that will make you feel better,” he said.
According to Don Goede, another of the event’s organizers and speakers, one of the goals of this year’s Waterfest is to highlight expressions of joy through water, something he hopes to which the afternoon water park will speak. Festivities will take place at Seven Minute Park from 1 to 5 p.m. and will include, among several others, a water slide, dunk tank, a cold plunge and hot tub. Mineral water beverages such as mocktails and snow cones will be available for purchase.
There will also be what Goede calls a “Mineral Water Orchestra.” One of the instruments will involve shooting high pressure mineral water at crystal bowls filled with mineral water to produce different tones.
“Water is so fascinating,” Goede gushed. “It’s so alive. And you don’t normally think of it as an instrument, but water is an instrument in its own right. So, we’re just having a little fun with that.”
Goede is the part-owner of SunWater Spa, and a longtime Colorado resident who has lived in Manitou for over 20 years. The mineral springs speak to his own personal connection to the land.
“When I was growing up as a child, I used to come through my grandparents had a cabin up in Cripple Creek, and every time we would come back down from the mountain, we would stop at the Seven Minute and get water. Sometimes my grandma would ask me to go to different fonts to get different water for her … I grew up with the mineral springs water.”
Water is life. – Lyn Ettinger-Harwell
For Goede, who is on the board of the Mineral Springs Foundation, protecting and maintaining the water system is just as much about preserving history but also a way a life.
“I can’t even imagine my life without mineral water,” he said, “There’s so many wonderful ways to apply it-you can soak in it, you can have fun with it, you can study it, you can drink it.”
Event attendance is free to the public, and all event proceeds will go towards the Mineral Springs Foundation and its mission. If there are any questions related to the potluck, please contact Lyn Ettinger-Harwell at 719-310-9439. Parking for the event will be on any of the paid parking lots or street parking located in Downtown Manitou Springs.
For more information on the event, visit mineralspringsfoundation.org.
