August 19, 2019 | Andrew Miller

Everyone’s a winner at the 10th annual CI Throwdown!

Summertime in Denver is not complete without Cottonwood Institute’s Annual Throwdown charity cornhole tournament at Union Station.

Union Station, originally built in 1881, burned down in 1894, and re-created in 1914, while historical, was previously only known as a train depot. (Really, there were passenger trains in and out of Denver?) Now, not only does it serve over 100,000 passengers per day, it is a destination, complete with some of Denver’s best restaurants, markets with locally made goods, dessert and coffee shops, cocktails, a nightlife…and of course, the Throwdown.

This year marked the 10th year of this epic event where cornhole lovers from all over came together to drink beer, eat food, laugh, socialize, toss bean bags, and even participate in the occasional dance-off (probably all in that order), all to help support Cottonwood Institute’s award-winning programs. These programs get Colorado front range students out of the concrete jungle and into the mountains where they play, learn, and discover their reason to care about their environment.

And speaking of playing, this year’s tournament featured 32 teams, but only one could claim the title of 2019 Throwdown champion. Team “Joe Berg’s Thighs” from Lockton emerged victorious in a white-knuckle victory over Nokia‘s “Fire in the Hole,” with the “1980 Baggers” coming in third. Competitors and spectators sipped on Great Divide Beers and bloody marys from The Real Dill and Deep Eddy Vodka. Playing Cornhole can really get that appetite worked up, too, and Illegal Pete’s and Rosenberg’s Bagels and Delicatessen raced in for the rescue. And of course, none of this would be complete without some jammin’ beats from Cameron Trainor, AKA 5280 Mobile DJ.

Although only one team could claim the title, the entire crowd rose gallantly to the pressures of this high intensity game. They became experts at tossing beanbags, enjoying food, drinks, music, and conversation with zero complaints (and zero waste, with the help of Scraps).

But the best part? All involved helped raise more than $31,000 to support Cottonwood Institute programming and our 15-passenger van “Fun Drive” campaign.