Crazy Photos: Frozen Dead Guy Days Coffin Race Teams, Costumes and More

From the 2023 Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival in Estes Park, Colorado, check out these photos of the whole crazy scene. There was lots of music, activities and generally good vibes. Planners would have been happy with 3,000 to 4,000 attendees. The event drew 6,000 to 7,000, a hugely popular turn out in this new location.

Gail Rubin was there to present Newly-Dead® The Game, thanks to the company Steps After Life. Steps After Life helps families with an online concierge who works directly with each family to swiftly resolve matters after a death. She also partnered with The Natural Funeral, which was an official sponsor of Frozen Dead Guy Days.

Coffin Race Teams

The highlight of Frozen Dead Guy Days is the Coffin Races. Twenty-eight teams competed to run an obstacle course with six pallbearers and a corpse in a home-made coffin. My favorite team was the Redrummers, inspired by the Stephen King novel and Stanley Kubrick film, The Shining. King was inspired to write the book after staying at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park in the 1970s. John Cullen, owner of the Stanley Hotel, bought the rights to the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival and Visit Estes Park put the event together in three months.

Frozen Dead Guy Day Costumes

There were lots of people in colorful costumes, playing on the themes of “frozen” and “dead.” There were also just plain weird outfits. “Beetlejuice” was played by funeral director Stacey Cole-Winsor, who works with Allnutt Funeral Home in Estes Park. She provided the starting blast signals for the Coffin Races.

Frozen Dead Guy Day Contests

The Brain Freeze ice cream eating contest was very popular, as was the pie tossing contest and Newly-Dead® The Game. Video from the Newly-Dead contest to come!