How to celebrate a birthday can be a slightly divisive issue.
Some people, like myself (October babies stand up!), celebrate their birthdays as if it were a national holiday. Other take it easy or ignore the day all together.
But 2024 is a special year for a few folks because, for the first time in four years, they will get to celebrate their birthdays on the date they were actually born.
Every four years, give or take, the month of February gets an extra day because Earth takes slightly longer than 365 days to orbit the sun. The extra day is needed to account for the additional time.
It’s a rare thing to be born on Leap Day — one in 1,461 deal to be exact. But we found some Denverites and Coloradans who were born on the special day and asked them a few questions they’ve probably been asked more times than when Feb. 29 has come around in their lifetimes.
So, if you see any of our leap year babies around, give them an extra birthday shoutout. They technically won’t celebrate again until 2028. And if you’re looking for some cool things to do on the extra day, we’ve got you covered.
Frank Locantore
Folks around Denver may know Locantore as the director of the Colfax Avenue Business Improvement District. Having only been able to celebrate 15 Leap Day birthdays, some might consider him the youngest director of any BID in the city.
Locantore is first on our list because he’s the only person signed up for the Denverite newsletter whose birthday is the 29th, which, by the way, you can do by filling in the box below:
He said one of the interesting parts about being born on a Leap Year is really everyone else’s excitement.
“The fun for me is how fun it is for everybody else because they know either so few people or nobody that’s born on Leap Day, so everybody else just gets a kick out of it. That kind of always makes me chuckle,” Locantore said. “But you know, it’s kind of the same as every year. Isn’t the joke that once you turn 21, what difference does it make?”
For this year’s celebration, Locantore said at first he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but after some thought, Locantore said he wanted to have a sandwich party.
“That got me excited about it,” Locantore laughed.
Locantore said he grew up in New York and there’s nothing like a good sandwich on a hard roll. He used to own a sandwich shop in the city inside of a bakery called Wich Doctor. Get it?
So having a party with a bunch of variations of sandwiches is right up his alley.
Locantore said the allure around being a leap day baby and having people constantly ask him about doesn’t get tiring. It’s different people and you have to admit, it is a conversation starter. Just don’t tell Locantore when he should celebrate his birthday when on non-Leap Years.
“My personal preference is to celebrate it on the 28th because I was born in February. But the thing that may get annoying to me was just way back in college when my housemates refused to let me celebrate it on the 28th,” Locantore said. “I was like, you know it’s my ******* birthday, right? They were like, yeah, but you weren’t yet born on the 28th. I was like, yeah, but I was also a day old on the first. There’s no logic here.”
Rick Kornfeld
Kornfeld, on the other hand, prefers to celebrate on March 1. But the beauty of a birthday on non Leap Years, Kornfeld said, is that there’s flexibility in when to celebrate.
“If the 28th is a better day to celebrate you have some flexibility,” Kornfeld laughed.
Kornfeld agreed with Locantore in that having a birthday every four years is exciting because people remember the date. It also makes him appreciate birthdays even more.
“I’ve always liked it because it’s unusual and people remember your birthday,” Kornfeld said. “I’ve never felt deprived of not having a birthday every year…I really think it makes you appreciate having a birthday as opposed to at least when you get older maybe sort of ruing having a birthday. I’ve always had a very positive association with having a birthday.”
Kornfeld said oftentimes celebrating a birthday can mean celebrating getting a year older and for some folks that’s tough but having a leap day birthday and technically being two ages, put aging into an interesting perspective.
“It really lays bare the relativism of [aging] because the number really doesn’t mean anything, right? Especially if you’re a leap year baby. The number is just sort of ephemeral,” Kornfeld said. “You don’t get too focused on the number.”
Like when Kornfeld turned 40, he also turned 10 and so did his daughter. So, they had a joint 10-year birthday party.
This year Kornfeld is heading to Canada for his actual birthday. A little backcountry skiing action. When he returns though, he’ll be ready to celebrate his 15th birthday in style.
Brian Pavlik
If there’s one thing that irritates Pavlik about being a Leap Year baby it’s people forgetting his birthday. Especially the three years when he doesn’t actually have one. This is according to his wife Dani, who let us know that Pavlik would be celebrating his 14th birthday this year.
Pavlik said it was more annoying when he was younger.
“It’s a little less exciting each year because, you know, I’m getting older,” Pavlik said “But I still prefer when there is a leap year.”
This preference is a new thing for Pavlik though. When he was younger, getting to celebrate his birthday on both days was a treat.
“When I was younger, I kind of preferred non Leap Years because the free dessert you get for your birthday and maybe when you’re in your party age, the free shots, well you could get them on the 28th and 1st,” Pavlik said.
Pavlik said he may be a little past his free shot days, but nonetheless he’ll be celebrating. He said his wife will be taking him out to a special dinner.
Chuck Buell
Going off how many Leap Year birthdays he’s actually had, the 2017 Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Radio Hall of Fame Inductee is still not of legal drinking age. Still, Buell has a ton of memories to share about being an 80/20 year old.
When it’s not a Leap Year, Buell makes his birthday a two-day event, as he should. But Buell says one his memorable “Leap Year Celebrations” is when his wife threw a “Party like a 15-year-old” event where friends gathered for remote control boat races in the backyard swimming pool. A piñata was stuffed with candy and lotto tickets. They catered BBQ foods like hot dogs and ribs. An ice cream catering cart was there with six different flavors. The next day, they rented an indoor go-kart track and headed to an arcade and restaurant afterwards.
“I’ve never seen so many adults have so much fun reliving childhood activities,” Buell wrote. “Guests still talk about it today years later. I’m truly sorry your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail!”
Here are some other birthday shout outs readers sent in to us.
Peggy said her husband will be celebrating his 18th birthday this year. Finally, an adult! The couple will be going deep sea fishing and snorkeling in the Pearl Islands outside of Panama.
“A party boat filled with good friends should kickstart into adulthood,” Peggy wrote. “Born in 1952, he has patiently waited for this moment.”
Rosanne said her dad was born on Feb. 29, 1932. They loved that they were always technically older than their father.
“For example, he was only 5 (i.e. 5 birthdays) when I was born,” Rosanne wrote. ” On his 8th birthday, I was already 11.”
Julie said her grandfather was born on Feb. 29 1896, so he was technically 8 years old before he got to celebrate on his actual birthday. There wasn’t a leap day in 1900 because leap days only occur in years divisible by 400.
