Madam Lou Bunch Day: A Celebration Like No Other

Madam Lou Bunch Day – perhaps Central City’s most famous annual event – takes place this year on June 17, 2023.

It’s a day filled with a wide range of colorful and sometimes wild activities, and the most memorable of these are the “bed races” held on Main Street: two people (often dressed in 19th-century costumes) sit in an elaborate wheeled bed, while a third person pushes them across the finish line to the cheering of dozens of bystanders.

The event is held in honor of the town’s most successful brothel owner from the Gold Rush days, Madam Lou Bunch. In fact, as far as anyone knows, it’s the only day anywhere in Colorado dedicated to a madam.

Louisa “Lou” Bunch was a powerful businesswoman whose life, as the lives of the infamous so often are, is shrouded in legend. She moved to Central City at the turn of the century to capitalize off the gold mining industry, and soon her establishment was the most lucrative in town. Bunch and her girls would flaunt decorum and openly attend baseball games to cheer for the city’s team – Bunch’s carriage could even be seen parked outside the stadium.

More than half a century later, a western filmed in Central City with a scene featuring bed racing sparked the imagination of local residents. They decided to create an event that would do justice to the memory of Madam Bunch and Colorado’s wild Gold Rush days and the rest is, well…history.

Madam Lou Bunch Day is truly an all-day affair, with plenty to experience. Besides cheering for their favorite bed-racing “teams,” participants can compete in a historical costume contest, enjoy a variety of food and beverages and watch the parade on Main Street. Other events include performances by the Infamous Backroom Cabaret as well as live music, capped off in the evening by the Madam’s and Miner’s Ball.

If you are able to experience this remarkable once-a-year celebration, you will have plenty of other things to do during your stay as well. Central City is a town filled with history and legend alike, and visitors can take a tour to different historical sites, such as the opera house (the 5th oldest in the country) and Teller House, a hotel dating back to 1872 that’s home to the infamous Face on the Barroom Floor. While no longer operating as a hotel, the Teller House will have the restaurant and bar open during the event season. There are also art galleries, casinos, museums and plenty of restaurants to make for a memorable weekend.

Accommodation-wise, the city’s casino-hotels offer a comfortable base for visitors to get a good night’s rest in between their explorations. Feel free to call for availability as bookings for the summer begin to pick up.

Summer is a great time in general to visit Central City. The month of July is the city’s opera season, while later in August is the annual beer festival, as well as the annual Cemetery Crawl – where curious tourists can wander the local cemetery while listening to lore and history from the city’s local history buffs. To learn more, visit our events page.