This weekend, Durango has the San Juan Brewfest, the Mountain States Cup Downhill Series Finale at Purgatory Resort and a late summer birding outing at the San Juan Mountains Association Nature Center.

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This story is sponsored by Serious Texas Bar-B-Q and RMW Tafoya Barrett & Associates.

A former Farmington grocery store has become a hub for local youth sports, thanks to the Pennington family. The Penningtons have owned the building since the 1980s and began converting it into practice space for their children's volleyball and baseball teams before opening it up to the wider community.

Today, Empire Athletics offers batting cages, volleyball and pickleball courts, a yoga studio and a gym, with a new turf field project already underway. Owners say every dollar the business makes goes back into equipment, not a paycheck. Empire Athletics sits near Costa Vida and Nutra Mills in Farmington, with league, camp and clinic updates posted on Facebook and Instagram.

By Tanner Waite

This story is sponsored by FASTSIGNS Farmington, Legacy Financial Advisors and Rocky Mountain Safety.

And presented by Four Corners Economic Development, the Farmington Chamber of Commerce and the Aztec Chamber of Commerce.

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The Montezuma Heritage Museum in Cortez is marking America's 250th anniversary and Colorado's 150th with two special exhibits. “Moments That Made Us” explores how local Montezuma County history connects to the themes of the Declaration of Independence and runs through December. “Yesterday's Stories” is a collaboration with KSJD Radio that brings historical archives to life through community voices and runs through October.

By Sadie Smith

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This story is sponsored by Builders First Source and Breaking Wax Trading.

On Wednesday, August, 19 EsoTerra Arboretum hosts Vinyasa and Vines, an all-levels yoga class paired with wine and cheese from 6 to 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, August 22, Durango Natural Foods hosts its annual Harvest Festival at Rotary Park from 2 to 7 p.m. And on Sunday, August 23, St. Paul's Lutheran Church hosts a community open house celebrating a newly renovated sanctuary from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a catered lunch from Zia Taqueria and tours of the new Animas Room community space.

By Sadie Smith

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This story is sponsored by FASTSIGNS Durango and Mercy Sports Medicine.

For more than 60 years, Farmington has hosted the Connie Mack World Series, one of the nation's top amateur baseball tournaments for players ages 16 to 18. Many of those players go on to compete in college and, in some cases, the major leagues.

In 1975, tournament organizers started the foster parent plan to ease the cost of travel for visiting teams. Since then, local families have opened their homes to teenage ballplayers during the tournament. Many of those relationships have lasted decades including Yan Gomes, a 2026 Connie Mack Hall of Fame inductee and Major League Baseball 2019 World Series champion, who stayed with the Campbell family in 2006.

By Tanner Waite

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This story is sponsored by Four Corners Regional Airport and Durango Motor Company.

Colorado's "Negligently Luring Bears" law, House Bill 1342, cracks down on people who attract wild bears. The law lowers the legal standard from "intentional" to "knowing" behavior, removes the automatic warning first-time offenders used to receive, and raises the fine for repeat violations from $2,000 to $5,000.

By Sadie Smith

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This story is sponsored by the FLC Center for Innovation and Sky Ute Casino.

Durango Nordic and Durango DEVO host the city's first ever mountain bike biathlon on Saturday, August 15, at Animas High School. The La Plata County Fair wraps up with the Demolition Derby Saturday afternoon at Sky Ute Fairgrounds in Ignacio. And the Durango Arts Center hosts the inaugural Kirk James Music Celebration Sunday, August 16, at Ska Brewing benefiting KSUT Public Radio and Stillwater Music youth scholarships.

By Sadie Smith

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This story is sponsored by Dunkin Donuts and Kroegers Ace Hardware.

Aztec Riverside BMX aims to break ground this October on a two-acre, city-owned lot for a new BMX track, giving local children a home course instead of long drives to Durango or Albuquerque to race. The nonprofit is working with USA BMX to design the track to national standards. Beyond race day, organizers plan a loaner bike fleet, Strider races for the youngest riders and a school partnership teaching children how bikes work through a STEM program.

By Tanner Waite

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This story is sponsored by Home2Suites and Sunray Park & Casino.