Aguilar Days

At ten in the morning on the first Saturday of August, a parade comes down Main Street in Aguilar. The street stays closed to traffic for most of the day, and detour signs route cars around town. The parade lines up at the Navajo Station half an hour before it starts. Anyone may march, and local interest groups are encouraged to bring a float. In 2026 the day fell on August 1 and ran from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. along Main Street and in Aguilar Town Park. Admission was free.

The festival goes by several names. It is the Aguilar Street Festival & Car Show, the Friends of Aguilar Car Show & Street Festival, Aguilar Street Fest on the Apishapa Valley Historical Society’s calendar, and Aguilar Days in The Chronicle-News. The Friends of Aguilar, a nonprofit in town, puts it on. The group charges nothing for its events and relies on sponsors and donors to pay for them. Its motto is “We put the unity in community.”

Booths, food trucks, and straw bales

The Friends counted 30 vendors for 2026, and the town’s own businesses stay open through the festivities. The World Journal listed what the booths sell:

• photography
• hand-crafted jewelry, woodcrafts, and hand-sewn crafts
• crocheted animals
• hunting knives
• pickled items and fudge
• t-shirts
• painted primitives
• crystals
• laser-etched goods

In 2026 the Scrappy Ladies Quilt Guild held a quilt raffle. The Apishapa Valley Historical Society opened its doors that day. Its Heritage Center keeps a collection of old photos, stories, newspapers, and business ledgers.

Organizers reported more food trucks for 2026 than ever before. They served barbecue sandwiches, Italian sausage sandwiches, shaved ice, hot dogs, flavored lemonades, and baked goods. A shaded food court, added in 2025, gives people a cool place to wait for an order and lets families sit down to eat together. A beer garden serves those 21 and over.

The bandstand has straw bales for seating. In 2026 Rosin & Rust, featuring Joe Jogerst, started at 11 a.m. with American folk and bluegrass. At 3 p.m. Robert Valdez & the Jammin Trio finished the day with classic country, rock, and Spanish music. KSPK Radio broadcast live from the festival.

Foam at half past two

The children’s area was overhauled for 2026 under Amanda Vigil, who took over the job that year. “Our goal this year was to attract a wider age group of kids to the play area,” she told the World Journal. The area offered carnival games, races, crafts, a piñata, a bubble table, and skee ball, and every activity was free. The main event of the afternoon was a foam party that started at 2:30. Parents must stay with their children the whole time. Friends of Aguilar volunteers run the games but do not supervise children.

Cars judged by class

Vintage and antique cars come for both the parade and the show, and the Friends’ notices also invite trucks, motorcycles, muscle cars, and custom builds. Each registered vehicle receives a check-in gift and is judged by class for a trophy. The World Journal counted eight car categories in 2026, and visitors walking the rows can vote for a favorite.

The Friends named four premier awards: Best of Show, Best Paint, People’s Choice, and Kids’ Choice. The prizes were car wash buckets from MSRHC and Navajo Liquors and a gift certificate from Griot’s Garage. The World Journal described the same four as people’s choice awards, each winning buckets of car-detailing goods.

A summer staple, revamped in 2016

Aguilar was founded in 1894 by the cattleman José Ramón Aguilar, according to the town. According to the World Journal, the August festival has been a summer staple there “for as long as some community members can remember.” It was revamped in 2016 into its current single-day format, and the paper called the 2026 edition the 11th annual. In August 2024, The Chronicle-News reported that Aguilar had “spruced up Main St.” for the annual Aguilar Days street festival and car show.

On the evening of August 1, 2026, the Friends posted their thanks to the vendors, car show participants, families, kids, and volunteers. They called the day “a perfect example of how we truly ‘put the unity in community.’”