Shrek would have to try something more enticing if he showed up in Cripple Creek this weekend and yelled for “Don-keee” to come trotting right over.

It worked in his movies, but in Cripple Creek, not so much.

The 13 donkeys in the town’s free-roaming herd are … well, they’re donkeys. They’re a bit stubborn, a bit free spirited, not given to paying attention to cars going up and down the town’s main street. After all, these beloved shaggy creatures just might be distant relatives of the working donkeys and burros from that area’s Gold Rush days, says Pat Martin of Cripple Creek Marketing and Events. So they were here first.

On Saturday and Sunday, they’ll be in the spotlight at the annual free Donkey Derby Days celebration in downtown Cripple Creek. Townspeople and visitors alike can take on the daunting task of trying to convince the donkeys to race. No one should hold their breath.

It’s all part of the Donkey Derby Days summer fun that dates back 81 years, says Martin.

There will be vendors, live entertainment, a parade, kids’ activities, history and food. And the family dog is welcome to come along and and compete for prizes. A big steak dinner will be grilled up Saturday in the Wildwood Casino parking lot.

All evening Saturday there will also be dancing in the streets to live bands.

And, you bet, there will be pennies, nickles and quarters going clink, clink, clink in the slots.

The Cripple Creek donkey herd

Age estimates by Melissa Trenary of the herd caretakers, the Two Mile High Club.• Cassie, jenny,  2 1/2.• Flash, jenny, 6. She’s pregnant.• Tarzan, gelding, 6.• Jenny Two, jenny, 8. She may be pregnant, too.• Hershey, gelding, 8.• Sweetpea, Sara, Jenny, Daisy and Coco, all jennies and all teenagers.• Shamus and Scout, geldings, mid to late teens.• Herbie, jenny, 33 or 34.

A few tidbits:

• Flash and Jenny Two spent personal time with the same jack (fellow) and both are mothers-to-be.

• Tarzan and Hershey were adopted by the Two Mile High Club through Long Hopes Donkey Rescue.

• Shamus is easy to spot, and fun to photograph, because he likes to let his tongue hang out, says Trenary.

• Tarzan, runner-up for mayor of Divide, sometimes thinks he’s a horse. There are horses on the west end of town, says Trenary, and Tarzan often hangs around with them for several days before heading back to be a donkey again.

• What’s a donkey? A member of the horse family. However, when a male donkey gets together with a female horse, the result is a mule.

•  What’s a burro? A tiny donkey frequently used as a pack animal.