(CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo.) — Some days you just have to roll out of bed, in Cripple Creek folks took that to a whole new level, literally rolling down the street on beds to celebrate Pearl DeVere Day.
This event honors the madame who built and ran the old Homestead House which was the most elegant brothel in the Cripple Creek mining district, during the hey-day of the gold rush.
“It’s my bachelorette weekend, so we’re in Cripple Creek the whole weekend, and we decided that we wanted to participate for the first time in bed races, so we had two teams, and we all did great, and it was super fun,” said Heidi Reynolds-Stenson.
The main event is the bed race, in which teams of three people, two ” Johns” and one “Pearl,” build their own bed to race against other teams.
“The Johns each take a turn in the bed with one pushing, and then you switch Johns at the halfway point and come back up, and so we just tried to really embrace the spirit of the competition,” said Kelsey Macilroy.
Pearl DeVere built the old homestead house in the 1800s, and it serves as a museum today.
“To come to the brothel, you had to definitely prove that you had plenty of money to be able to spend a night here at Pearl’s,” said Rob Tagila.
Back in the day, she charged $250 per night, which is equivalent to $9,000 today.
“It’s important that we keep that history, prostitution was a major part of the economy here in town,” said Charlotte Bumgarner, a manager at the Pearl DeVere Museum.
Original furniture and wallpaper still complement all ten rooms, which is why organizers host the event to keep Pearl and the Parlor Girls’ wild energy alive.
“We deal with a 139-year-old house that needs repairs. So, we have fundraisers, and this is one of our best, bed races, it’s just a good old solid good time,” said Bumgarner.
If you missed this year’s bed race, they will be back again next year.
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