Trinidad Triggers plan family-friendly Independence Day celebration in Central Park

Trinidad’s downtown park is set to become the city’s Independence Day gathering place, with the Trinidad Triggers turning Central Park into a full evening of baseball, food, music and fireworks instead of a simple ballgame. Gates will open at 3 p.m. at Central Park, 700 Smith Avenue, giving families several hours of activities before the 5:35 p.m. first pitch.

The pregame lineup is built for kids and parents alike. Children will be able to decorate bikes, join a bike parade around Central Park Lake and cool off at a Trinidad Fire Department water spray. The schedule also includes a watermelon giveaway and a watermelon-eating contest, along with the national anthem sung by the Trinidad Chorale and a first-pitch ceremony honoring state Rep. Ty Winter.

Once the Triggers take the field against Santa Fe, the night will move toward a fireworks show donated by the City of Trinidad. Tickets are listed at $12 in advance for ages 6 and up, $15 at the gate and $5 for fireworks seating inside the park. Organizers are also reminding attendees about bag checks and ID requirements for alcohol purchases.

The event is being built around more than baseball. The city’s announcement names local vendors and partners including Tarantula Cycles, Phil Long Toyota, GhettoDias, Trinidad Smokehouse, the Coal Stove, One Potato, Two Potato and the Triggers Beer Barn, with food and beverage options available on site and an ATM planned for the park. That mix of vendors, sports and public entertainment is designed to keep spending downtown, drawing holiday traffic to businesses near the park and extending the Fourth of July crowd into the evening.

For Trinidad, the celebration also reflects how Central Park has become part of the city’s identity. The park opened in 1960, and the Triggers debuted there in 2012. The city completed a baseball field and stadium renovation and marked it with a ribbon-cutting on July 26, 2024, after earlier improvements to the bullpens, seating wall and field and grass seating areas. This year’s holiday game continues a tradition the team has promoted for years: a community Fourth of July gathering in Southern Colorado built around fireworks, family events and a hometown summer crowd.