Frozen Dead Guy Days comes to Estes Park
Frozen Dead Guy Days, a beloved annual event in Colorado for over 20 years, is coming to Estes Park on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, March 17-19, 2023. The festival will feature live music and entertainment at the Estes Park Events Complex and The Stanley Hotel, with additional events around town.
Attendees can look forward to classic events such as coffin races and a polar plunge, as well as new and unique activities such as a deadman fashion show, roaming freak show acts, and a Bands and Bloodys Sunday Brunch.
History of FDGD
Frozen Dead Guy Days is an annual festival that takes place in Nederland, Colorado, and is celebrated in honor of the town’s most unusual resident, Grandpa Bredo Morstoel. The festival is based on the story of Bredo Morstoel, a Norwegian man who died in 1989 and was cryogenically frozen by his family. His granddaughter, Aud Morstoel, brought his body to Nederland, Colorado, and kept it frozen in a shed on her property.
The festival began in 2002 as a way to celebrate this unusual event and has since grown to include a variety of events and activities.
The festival is a combination of music, art, and entertainment events that are held over a weekend in March.
The event includes coffin races, polar plunge, and other weird and wonderful happenings.
Chilled for +30 years
Grandpa Bredo Morstoel, over 110 years old, has been residing in a Tuff Shed in the hills above Nederland, Colorado, where he remains frozen in a state of suspended animation, awaiting the day when he can be brought back to life.
The story of how he came to be in this state is a fascinating one, involving cryonics, deportation, psychics, and a dedicated family member who brought him to Colorado. This unique tale has captured international attention and led to the creation of the annual event, Frozen Dead Guy Days.
The question remains, how did this all begin and how long will Grandpa Bredo’s frozen state last?
Revived
Before his passing from a heart condition in 1989, Grandpa Bredo Morstoel led a comfortable life in Norway, where he was born and raised. He had a passion for painting, fishing, skiing, and hiking in the mountains. He also served as the Director of Parks and Recreation for Norway’s Baerum County for over 30 years.
After his death, instead of a traditional burial, his body was packed in dry ice and sent to the Trans Time cryonics facility in Oakland, California where it was placed in liquid nitrogen for nearly 4 years. In 1993, his body was then transported to Colorado to be with his daughter, Aud Morstoel, and grandson, Trygve Bauge, both of whom were strong advocates for cryonics and hoped to start their own cryonics facility.
He has been stored in a shed near his grandson’s home for years, and was almost left alone due to some visa issues.
But is it legal?
The laws of Nederland, Colorado prohibit the storage of a frozen human or animal (or any body part thereof) in a private home. This law came into existence due to Grandpa Bredo Morstoel. When his grandson Trygve was deported in the mid-90s due to an expired visa, Bredo’s daughter, Aud, took over the care of her father’s frozen body. She was soon evicted for living in a house with no electricity or plumbing and was about to return to Norway.
This would have resulted in the end of the family’s cryonics facility. In order to ensure her father’s preservation, she spoke to a local reporter, who brought the matter to the attention of the Nederland city council, which passed Section 7-34 of the municipal code regarding the “keeping of bodies.” Grandpa Bredo was grandfathered in and allowed to stay, and since then, he has become a worldwide media sensation and has been well cared for by his family and community.
