DOWNIEVILLE — Gold Rush Days returned this past weekend, with several hundred people packing into Downieville for the three-day event. The mining and history-minded crowd gave Downieville Museum one of its best weekends of the year, with over 175 folks visiting.

The International California Mining Journal (ICMJ)’s annual event brought gold mining and prospecting equipment vendors to the Downieville School gym, where everyone from pro prospectors to budding amateurs could learn new techniques and peruse the latest equipment. Many spent the weekend on the North Yuba and Downie rivers, panning for gold and wandering around town, enjoying the beautiful weather.

The highlight, as usual, was the gunfight show on Main Street by the Nevada Gunfighters on Saturday. The story featured outlaws causing trouble in town, only to be brought to justice by a group of bounty-hunting women. The Gunfighters also offered gun safety tips and demonstrated the power of the blanks used in the show, which could easily punch a hole through cloth.

Later on Saturday afternoon, an old-fashioned Brass Band played at the Downievile gazebo, invoking memories of the original gold rush days. The Brass Band brings together musicians from all over Northern California who play original brass instruments fabricated between the 1850s and 1880s. Following that, singer/songwriter Chris James played music at Boomtown Lounge.

This year’s crowd was smaller than last, perhaps due partly to reports of fire and smoke in the region. Hopes are that Gold Rush Days will return again next year.