On August 1, 2026, Colorado marks 150 years of statehood — the Centennial State's grandest milestone. Here's why it matters, and why the sky over Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is the perfect place to celebrate it.
Colorado was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876 — just 28 days after the United States celebrated its own centennial. That timing gave Colorado a nickname it has carried ever since: The Centennial State.
President Ulysses S. Grant signed the proclamation admitting Colorado as the 38th state on August 1, 1876. The territory had been organized in 1861, and the long road to statehood reflected Colorado's rapid transformation from frontier territory to established community — driven by the Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1859, the growth of Denver, and the determination of its settlers to build something lasting at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
Colorado Day — August 1 — has been an official state holiday ever since. It is one of only a handful of states that celebrates its admission to the Union as a formal public holiday. In 2026, that holiday falls on a Saturday, and Colorado will celebrate its 150th birthday — the Sesquicentennial — for the very first time.
The 150th anniversary of any state is a genuinely rare event. In the entire history of Colorado, this has never happened before. It will not happen again for 50 more years.
Colorado's Sesquicentennial is not a routine anniversary. It falls at a moment when the state has grown from a frontier territory of 40,000 people to a dynamic, diverse state of nearly six million — one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. From the gold fields of the San Juans to the aerospace corridors of the Front Range, from the ski resorts of the Rockies to the tech industry of Denver, Colorado has become one of America's most consequential states.
The 150th is a moment to look back at what Colorado has built — and to look forward at what it is becoming. That is the spirit the Mile High 150 Expo is built to celebrate: historic, ambitious, and uniquely Colorado.
August 1 is an official Colorado state holiday, one of the few states in the nation that formally observes its own birthday. In 2026, it falls on a Saturday — making it the most publicly accessible Colorado Day in a generation.
Colorado earned the nickname "The Centennial State" because it was admitted to the Union in 1876, the same year the United States celebrated its own 100th birthday. That dual heritage — frontier and nation — has defined Colorado's identity ever since.
Colorado Territory was established in 1861, the same year the Civil War began. The territory's journey to statehood took 15 years — shaped by mining booms, railroad expansion, conflict, and community-building that forged a distinctive Colorado character.
In 1876, Colorado had a population of roughly 40,000 people. Today, nearly six million people call Colorado home, making it the 21st most populous state in the nation — a transformation driven by mining, agriculture, aerospace, technology, and outdoor recreation.
Long before Colorado became a center of aerospace and defense, its wide skies, high altitude, and pioneering spirit made it a natural home for aviation. That tradition runs deep — and it is alive today at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.
Colorado's connection to aviation and space is not history — it is today's economy, today's workforce, and today's source of national pride.
Colorado is home to more space industry employees per capita than any other state. United Launch Alliance, Lockheed Martin Space, Ball Aerospace, and Sierra Space operate major facilities along the Front Range.
Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Buckley Air Force Base, and the Air Force Academy make Colorado one of the most significant defense aviation and space operations centers in the United States.
Colorado's general aviation community is one of the most active in the nation. From KBJC in Broomfield to Centennial Airport in Englewood to dozens of smaller fields, Colorado's skies are home to pilots, warbird enthusiasts, and aviation preservationists who keep the tradition alive.
The Commemorative Air Force Mile High Wing is the Colorado chapter of one of the world's largest warbird preservation organizations — and the organizer of the Mile High 150 Expo.
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and operation of historic military aircraft. Founded in 1957, the CAF operates the largest collection of flying WWII-era aircraft in the world. The Mile High Wing is the Colorado chapter, based at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC) in Broomfield.
The Wing operates two airworthy historic aircraft — the SNB-5 "Sonoran Beauty," a rare WWII-era U.S. Navy twin-engine trainer, and the T-28A Trojan, the U.S. Air Force's primary Korean War-era pilot trainer. Both aircraft will be present at the Mile High 150 Expo, along with aircraft participating in the Colorado 150 Flyover.
The CAF's mission — to educate, inspire, and honor through flight and living history — is directly aligned with the spirit of the Sesquicentennial. There is no more fitting way to mark 150 years of Colorado history than with the sound of historic aircraft over the Rocky Mountains.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC) is not just a location. It is a living piece of Colorado aviation history — and the ideal stage for a 150th birthday celebration built around flight.
KBJC sits at the geographic heart of the Front Range, bordered by Broomfield, Westminster, Superior, and Louisville — communities that represent the full sweep of modern Colorado. The airport has been part of the region's aviation fabric for decades, serving general aviation, business aviation, and the Commemorative Air Force Mile High Wing.
On August 1, 2026, the terminal ramp at KBJC will become the stage for the Mile High 150 Expo — with the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop, historic warbirds on the ramp, a Nashville headliner on the stage, and 300 drones writing Colorado's story in the night sky above the Front Range.
It is a setting that could only exist in Colorado. And it is a moment that will only exist once.
The Mile High 150 Expo — Colorado's 150th birthday celebration — takes place Saturday, August 1, 2026 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Colorado.
Get Your Tickets → Explore the Event