Territory Days wraps up in Old Colorado City

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Territory Days, the yearly three-day event, wrapped up Monday evening, drawing thousands of people to the streets of Old Colorado City.

Vendors, live music, spectacles and historical education were all part of the event that honors the heritage of the pioneers who started the town. One that drew attention no matter where it went, however, was Dennisaurus Rex, a friendly emu.

"He loves to come here and be loved on all day long," Billy-Sue Mitchell, his owner, said.

Dennis is trained to guard Mitchell's chickens and livestock from predators. She says when he's not at his nine-to-five guarding, she will bring him to events to socialize.

"This is his happiest day today," Mitchell said.

While there were plenty of spectacles for families to enjoy, for certain shops on the street, today is a big day. For coffee shop, Carnelian, it's a huge revenue generator.

"It's typically comparable to our busiest day of the week, but three times. So we have a busy day Saturday, Sunday and Monday. So it's all three days are really busy," Kate Klauss, co-owner of Carnelian Coffee said.

Klauss said they do hours of prep work in advance to prepare for the crowds that come into their coffee shop.

"You know, it's a lot of prep work, but we have fun with it. We get into the theme and we have a good time," Klauss said.