Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

112 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 rich Western heritage, contemporary vision, and genuinely friendly community culture. When inspected more closely, it’s clear that Craig’s neighborly culture is largely influenced by the signature events and public amenities that are available to people. Among the events, the most notable is the annual Whittle the Wood Sculpture Competition, in which artists from all over Colorado and beyond come to Craig to carve artistic sculptures out of huge wooden logs. The competition is one of the city’s largest signature events and draws in an incredibly diverse crowd of attendees, food and game vendors, as well as musical artists. There is also the annual Moffat County Balloon Festival and the Moffat County Fair, which both tend to be big events for the local restaurants in the area. However, Craig also has a large lineup of attractions that keep residents and visitors entertained even when there aren’t any big events happening. City Manager Peter Brixius explains this quite well, saying, “Between the mountains, rivers, hunting, our hospitality industry, skiing, and some of the other natural amenities and recreation, it’s a pretty vibrant area year-round.” This serves to explain why locals are so warm and welcoming. Its mixture of natural beauty