All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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By most standards, Niwot Boys Tennis is off to a strong start, but when you are used to competing at the top levels of the sport, sometimes it’s hard to keep it in perspective. The Niwot Cougars are off to a 4-2 start, and 4-0 in league play. “It’s been a little rough,” according to Head Coach Aimee Hites, who was speaking of recent losses to Colorado Academy and Cheyenne Mountain. The Cougars lost both matches by a score of 4-3, to two of Colorado’s top prep tennis programs at any level. “We were up 3-0 against Cheyenne Mountain,” Hites said,...
Niwot girls volleyball coach Tony Engel was pleased with how his team came out of the gate to start the season, winning a 3-set match against Silver Creek High School Sept. 5. The team's season opener was one of the latest in Colorado as Silver Creek and many other teams started the season as early as Aug. 17. "We came out a little nervous," Engel said. "We didn't play our game. We were a little over excited. We kind of settled down and we figured out what Niwot volleyball was," Coach Engel...
Twenty-five years ago, the Niwot High School baseball program won its first state title, winning the Class 4A championship game with a mercy-rule 5-inning 14-0 victory over Broomfield. A celebration of that first state title as well as the 50-year program is scheduled for Saturday Sept. 23 at 12 noon at the NHS baseball field as part of Homecoming Week. Senior Eric Larson led off the 1998 championship game with a homerun, and sophomore Mike Moat pitched a shutout. That marked the first of five s...
Although this year's Rock & Rails concert series has concluded, there is still more Thursday night music to enjoy in Whistle Stop Park. RISE 2023, The Jared Music Foundation's annual benefit concert is returning on Thursday, Sept. 7, from 5 - 9 p.m..at Whistle Stop Park. "This will be our third one at Whistle Stop Park," said co-founder Surinder Dahiya. "We're hoping to get a good turnout because we now have about 30 kids that we fund. Over 20 are taking it at the Boulder Symphony Music...
Although it feels like Rock & Rails just got started, the last concert of the season took place Thursday, Aug. 31. As the saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun." And, as usual, the last concert pulled in a nice crowd to enjoy the music, the weather and to say goodbye to Niwot's long-running signature summer event. The evening kicked off at 5:00 p.m. with Nalani in a solo performance following last week's performance as the Rock & Rails headliner with The Nalani Effect. Nalani, also...
The House Blend Band and the Niwot Gig will team up for their last concert for the season on 2nd Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 9, from 6 to 9 p.m. outside of The Old Oak Coffeehouse. Michael Tomich and Patty Machen, co-owners of the coffee shop, and founding members of the band, are bringing young musicians from the Niwot Gig to perform an opening set. Martin Marks, owner of the Niwot Gig, will be on hand to assist the younger set. The Old Oak Coffeehouse will be serving its signature spaghetti...
The Veterans Banner program which started several years ago, will again bring banners honoring veterans with Niwot connections to lampposts in downtown Niwot and in Cottonwood Square, beginning in October. According to a statement on the Niwot Community Association’s website, “This is the fifth year the Niwot Community Association (NCA) and the Niwot Business Association (NBA) are co-sponsoring the Veterans Banner Project to honor veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Banners are displayed in Niwot during the weeks surrounding Vet...
Hazel Miller, who has performed at every Rock & Rails summer concert series since its inception in 2006, will bring her powerful voice and a blend of jazz, blues, R&B and popular music to Niwot Aug. 31. Miller will appear with her band, The Collective, to bring a soulful end to the 2023 summer concert series at Niwot's Whistle Stop Park. For the past several seasons, Miller has been the featured performer at the final concert. Miller has played almost every venue and event in Colorado over the...
The Niwot community turned out to honor the life and memory of Bert Steele Saturday, Aug. 26, in Cottonwood Square shopping center. What was originally planned to be a "thank you" to the Niwot community for supporting local retail businesses, and helping the merchants survive the pandemic shutdown, morphed into a tribute to the late Bert Steele, who brought The Niwot Market to life over 20 years ago. Stacy Szydiek, co-owner of The Niwot Tavern, spearheaded the effort to put the afternoon and eve...
A beautiful evening greeted concert-goers at the penultimate Rock & Rails concert of the season on Aug. 24. Although gray skies threatened, nothing more than a brief dash of rain fell, making for a perfect summer evening. Rock & Rails veteran Wendy Woo opened the evening. A Boulder native, Woo's parents were founding faculty members at Naropa University in Boulder. Influential beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Ken Kesey would be regulars in the living room – a fact s...
Niwot recently lost two men who left incredibly large shoes to fill. Both men died unexpectedly in their early 70s, while still very much active in their businesses. Art Stapp was Stapp Interstate Toyota, once located in south Longmont, and now located east of town off I-25. Bert Steele was The Niwot Market, in Niwot’s Cottonwood Square Shopping Center. Though their businesses were very different, each, in his own way, left an indelible mark on our community. There were many similarities, though you might not think so at first glance. Both ran...
Hundreds of people turned out for the Celebration of Life for Bert Steele on Aug. 20 at the Knaus Farm on Nimbus Road, with a bluegrass band providing background music both before and after remarks and remembrances by family and friends. The much-loved principal owner of The Niwot Market died Aug. 7 after a short illness. But the tributes to Steele, focusing on how he treated people and how he served the community, haven't ended. On Saturday, Aug. 26, Bluegrass for Bert will be held in...
If it's not one thing, it's another... Through much of June and July, rain, hail and thunderstorms were the Thursday night concern. But now that we're in August, high temperatures have finally come to roost. However, judging by the number of chairs set out to save a space at Rock & Rails, the heat wasn't about to put a dent in enthusiasm for the evening. Legitimate By Friday was Thursday's opening act. No strangers to the Rock & Rails stage, the band has performed six times at the event. Band...
Get your votes in soon for the People’s Choice Award winner for Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show. The jury is no longer out as the distinguished panel of judges has already selected the first, second and third place winners of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association’s celebration of art about Niwot, but patrons of the arts can still help select the People’s Choice winner. Voting will end Aug. 31, as the awards ceremony and artist’s reception is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 1, with festivities beginning at 6 p.m. in front of Osmosis Gallery and the...
Coach Christina Ayers took her Niwot High School cheer squad to Colorado State University July 6-9 for a cheer camp, and they came home with first-place and second-place awards. "We attended the UCA Varsity Summer Camp at CSU this summer," Ayers said. "During the camp, the team won the Spirit Bananas on the first night, and during the showcase, came in first in the Camp Dance and second in the Game Day Routine." "Our objective this camp was to unite our team and continue forward with our...
Skyler Messinger, a corner infielder for the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class A California League, was named the Colorado Rockies' Minor League Player of the Month for July. In 22 games during July, Messinger hit .326, with a .414 on base percentage and a .744 slugging percentage. His production included 10 doubles, a triple, eight home runs, 28 RBIs and two stolen bases. "At the end of May I made a pretty big swing change," Messinger said. "My last year at Texas I hit with a really wide stance and...
When Niwot opens its football season on the road at Greeley Central High School on Friday, Aug. 25, the Cougars should have at least 16 seniors suiting up, the most in Coach Nik Blume's four-year stint as head coach. Collectively, they should weigh far more than a ton, with some players checking in at 275 pounds. For perspective, the Cougars had only three seniors last season, when they finished 3-7. "We averaged 30 kids in the weight room and 30 kids at summer practices this year," Blume said. "When I started four years ago, we were lucky to...
It's been a year since the last time Face Vocal Band took the stage at Rock & Rails. "For us, every year, it gets a big circle on our calendar," said Mark Megibow, vocal performer and one of the band's partners. "It's one of the most crowded, animated and excited groups we get to play for. People get loud and they have fun." Megibow said that Rock & Rails is also one of the concert series that Face has been playing for the longest. That creates a lot of memories. In addition to the reliable...
Dressed in white suits, with finely choreographed dance moves, the musicians of One on One made the music come alive at Rock & Rails Aug. 10. Although the early afternoon began with a light shower, by the 5 p.m. start time, the rain had stopped, the wind died down and the sun was out. Singer-songwriter Megan Burtt opened the evening with her guitar and vocal artistry as the crowd gathered. One on One's setlist, featuring the best of Motown, had the crowd singing along. Early in the evening the...
The House Blend Band resumes its summer concert series on 2nd Avenue in Niwot on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. 2nd Avenue from Murray Street to Franklin Street will be closed for the duration of the event to provide room for the portable stage set up, seating, and dancing in the street. The inside of The Old Oak Coffeehouse will be closed during the event, but spaghetti will be served from the window, along with other food and drinks. Other businesses, including 1914 House and The Niwot...
About five years after hearing his name called in the 2018 MLB draft, 26-year-old Gunbarrel native Kyle Leahy made his big league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on July 7. The right-handed pitcher's first call-up didn't last long, but Leahy can officially consider himself one of just over 20,000 players who've ever reached the game's highest level. Leahy's first MLB appearance came on the road against the Chicago White Sox. With the Cards up 7-6 following a go-ahead two-run home run by Nolan...
Niwot High School boys soccer coach Stephen Dimit is optimistic about the 2023 squad that begins play at home against Pueblo West High School at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 17, the first day of school. "We're pretty senior heavy," Dimit said. "Josh Ary came up big time for us last year," Dimit said of the senior defender. Ary is out for the first game with a minor injury suffered in the first week of practice, but is expected back soon. Senior midfielder Bo Gardner has moved up the field this year and...
The Niwot Tavern is hosting a music festival at Cottonwood Square on Aug. 26 from 2-9 p.m., in honor of Bert Steele, co-owner of Niwot Market, who died Aug. 7 after a short illness. The free event, "Bluegrass for Bert," is funded by the owners of Niwot Tavern, with financial assistance from the Niwot Local Improvement District and the Niwot Business Association. "The whole event is for Bert, because he's the heart of Niwot," said Stacy Szydlek, co-owner of the Niwot Tavern. Szydlek and Tara...
Guerrilla Fanfare Brass Band brought its high-energy brass to Niwot last Thursday. Aug. 3, and the crowd loved it. The group, featuring trumpets, trombones, saxes, drums and a tuba, crowded the stage and entertained the audience with funky instrumentals that everyone enjoyed. The weather cooperated as predicted storms bypassed Niwot, unlike the rain and windstorm on Tuesday night that took down the entry-gate structure at Whistle Stop Park. One of the two tipi-like tripods was damaged when it...
Wind, rain and lightning brought an end to the National Night Out event in Niwot on Aug. 1 before it ever got started. With tables and chairs set up along Murray Street near the 2nd Avenue intersection, the Niwot Community Association's annual event was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. with hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks furnished by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, Mountain View Fire Rescue and other first responders. Just as the band trailer was being set up for the Niwot Community Sem...
Tuesday, July 25, saw The Peter Fund host a concert in Whistle Stop Park in conjunction with the recognition of the first five Kindness Counts Award winners in the non-profit's effort to recognize and reward acts of kindness. The evening opened with two bands, The PSB and Pearl Vision, each made up of local high school students who knew the late Peter Bonn-Elchoness, who died of a rare heart condition during his senior year at Niwot High School last fall. The music concluded with a performance...
A warm summer night, a tribute to Eagles founding member Randy Meisner who died the day before, and a record night for tips and alcohol sales highlighted the July 27 edition of Rock & Rails. The Strangebyrds, comprised of Cari Minor and Ray Smith, were Thursday's opening Rock & Rails act. No "strangers" to the Rock & Rails stage, the duo has been around since 2011, and have released five albums to date, with a musical style they describe as "blue collar folk Americana." The quality of Rock &...
Colorado's unusually wet summer weather caught up with Rock & Rails July 20, cutting short the performance by Rebecca Folsom and her band. The dark clouds and threat of rain held off until just after 7 p.m., when lightning strikes within two miles of the venue, accompanied by a downpour, interrupted the performance. Folsom and the band tried to wait out the storm as concert-goers huddled around the depot building and crowded under umbrellas, but when high winds came up and the rain did not...
Skyler Messinger, now playing third base for the Fresno Grizzlies in the Colorado Rockies' organization, last played on it in 2017. His brother, Connor Messinger, played on it a few years earlier before heading off to play baseball at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and later the University of Nebraska at Kearney, then returning to Niwot as an assistant coach. Last season, seniors Jed Kilpatrick, Julian Lettow, Diego Castro and Jaedyn Adler played on it, together with a number of...
Twenty-six members of the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, under the direction of Debbie Benson, performed the National Anthem at the Colorado Rockies game against the New York Yankees on Friday, July 14. Band members gathered in the parking lot before the game to warm up with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," "Don't Stop Believin'," "Sweet Caroline," and "Celebration," which seemed to work as the Rockies beat the Yankees, 7-2, in the first regular season game after the All-Star...
The House Blend Band, composed of family and friends of Old Oak Coffeehouse owners Michael Tomich and Patty Machen, took to the street Saturday, July 15, to perform for a large local crowd. Three generations of the Tomich-Machen family performed with the band, blending harmonies with the musicians. Old Oak Coffeehouse barista Zach Collins also sang with the band, continuing a tradition of featuring one of the Old Oak employees at every concert. The band set up on 2nd Avenue on a stage purchased...
The July meeting of the Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee (LID), delayed a week due to the July 4th holiday, took place on Tuesday, July 11. The LID approved two funding requests - $2,037 for the Niwot Cultural Arts Association's Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show, which kicked off July 1, and $5,300 for NHS student Montana Heather's Eagle Scout project to install a "Welcome to Niwot" stone sign on Niwot Road near the intersection with the Diagonal Highway. Anne Postle of Osmosis...
First Friday Art Walk in Niwot saw a good crowd out and about. Open Studios, in the former Niwot Feed Store, along with Osmosis Gallery and Niwot Jewelry & Gifts had many visitors as the Niwot Cultural Arts Association's Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show kicked off. The entries in this year's art contest, featuring art connected to Niwot, are now on display at the many participating businesses. Patrons completing a passport showing visits to all of the businesses are eligible for a drawing of a...
Jeff and Cindy Wolcott hosted approximately 40 visitors on Friday, July 7, at their home just east of Niwot where Jeff Wolcott has been working with Dustin Wolf to restore the iconic tree carving, Spear Lodge Man. The sculpture, also known as Biitoheinen in the Arapaho language, was carved by Dustin's late father, Eddie Running Wolf, from the stump of a willow tree along Niwot Road near its intersection with 2nd Avenue. Although the willow tree died when the Hinman Ditch no longer ran next to...
Niwot High School golfer Mina O'Dell wanted to do something to help animals and settled on a charity golf tournament as the best avenue. Her efforts paid off when she delivered a check to the Longmont Humane Society on June 30 for $5,120. The tournament, held at Twin Peaks Golf Course June 24, was a 4-person best-ball scramble. "We all had so much fun golfing and laughing," O'Dell said. "After playing 18-holes of golf, we served an all you can eat taco bar lunch catered by Marco's Tacos. The...
"Why would anybody ever eat anything besides breakfast food?" This excellent question was posed by the fictitious character, Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, from the television show "Parks and Recreation." Quite frankly, it appears a large majority of Niwot agrees. The only thing that makes breakfast foods better is when that food is shared with friends, neighbors, loved ones, and new faces. That, and when a portion of the proceeds go towards helping our community. This year's pancake...
Niwot High School Boys Basketball Coach Clay Wittrock announced that he was stepping down to spend more time with his family. The Cougars won their first three games last season, but finished with a record of 5-17. Wittrock became Niwot's head coach in the 2019-20 season, when the team posted a record of 13-11. Since then, the Cougars finished 1-13 during the 2020-21 Covid season, and 3-17 in the 2021-22 season. Niwot's overall record during Wittrock's four seasons was 22-58. Athletic Director...
The usual Thursday modus operandi of "rain, rain, and more rain" certainly held true on Thursday, June 22. But Mother Nature also seems to be a fan of Rock & Rails, and the weather only temporarily halted the fun at last week's Rock & Rails where it was all about the blues. Deborah Stafford and the Night Stalkers got the evening started at 5:00 p.m. Stafford has been a staple of the Colorado blues scene for several years but put the band together in its current form in 2021. Deborah Stafford and...
The rest stop at Whistle Stop Park was brimming with bicyclists Saturday morning, June 24, to raise awareness and money for the Bike MS charity, dedicated to helping victims of multiple sclerosis. The ride took place on a gorgeous summer morning when all of the flower boxes down Second Avenue were in full bloom, and many locals watched from the coffee shop patio as the endless stream of bicyclists zipped by. Other Niwot community members helped out the riders at the Whistle Stop Park rest stop....
TRACK Erika Timbang (Niwot), a junior at UCCS, ran the 800M at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships April 28-30. Timbang placed 19th overall, with a time of 2:23.18. Her best time in the event, 2:20.86, came at the Kit Mayer Classic April 7-8, where she finished eighth. She also ran the 400M earlier in the season. Kathryn Carroll (Niwot), a freshman at UCCS, was second team all Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the triple jump this spring. Carroll finished sixth in the event...
The June meeting of the Niwot Business Association, held Tuesday, June 13 outside of the former feed store at 291 Second Avenue in Niwot, was sponsored by Osmosis Art & Architecture. Owner and architect Anne Postle greeted members and introduced Tucker Huey of her staff. Postle has been instrumental in working with John Fischer, owner of the former feed store, and the Niwot Cultural Arts Association, to arrange for Open Studios artists to use the space until early July to display art by local...
Caleb Law, a 2023 graduate of Niwot High School, received a $500 scholarship from the County Sheriffs of Colorado, which he plans to apply towards the cost of his continuing education. Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson came to Niwot's Whistle Stop Park to present the award, with Caleb's parents, Michael and Michelle Law, and his older brothers, Jared Law and Evan Law, in attendance. Every odd-numbered high school graduation year, one Boulder County resident is selected to receive the...
Open Studios, a non-profit artist's organization based in Boulder, has returned to Niwot after a successful run last holiday season when the organization put on a display of art by local artists which was for sale during the month of December. Since then, property owner John Fischer has refurbished the interior and exterior of the property. The Niwot Cultural Arts Association worked with Fischer to make the former Niwot Rental & Feed property available to artists, and Open Studios is the first...
The requests for funding presented to the Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee June 6 included old and new events –- a new event designed to capitalize on the Bike MS: Colorado event coming through Niwot on Saturday, June 24, a FlowerFest event scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, music for First Friday Art Walks, a resurrection of Oktoberfest on Sept. 30, and a Where’s Waldo Local scavenger hunt throughout the month of July. Bike MS: Colorado Bike MS: Colorado is a bicycle ride, as opposed to a race, with a route from Fort Collins to...
Although it has required some long hours, Niwot High alums Ryan Gonzales and Tyson Christensen are enjoying every minute of the Denver Nuggets' first NBA Finals trip in franchise history. No, neither Gonzales nor Christensen is suiting up for head coach Michael Malone, but both have been instrumental to the Nuggets' home-court success this postseason. Gonzales, a 2002 Niwot grad, works for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Nuggets, as a Senior Director and Producer of Broadcast...
Thursday's Rock & Rails headliner is familiar to many attendees, with proven performers who can get the audience up off of their lawn chairs, abandon their picnic baskets and onto the dance floor. It will be the popular Chris Daniels and the Kings, the beloved Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducted band, which has played its rock and blues-based music in venues throughout the world. They will be preceded by the opening act, Gunbarrel acoustic guitarist Dean Himes, a 2022 Colorado Country Music...
The first band to play Niwot's summer concert series 18 years ago returns to open the 2023 Rock & Rails summer concert series Thursday, June 1. Girls On Top!, a seven-member band featuring vocalists Dawn Beck, Kristin Henry and Michele Steele in three-part harmony, performs R&B, rock, soul and funk from the 1970s and 1980s, with a stage presence that has made them a favorite along the Front Range. "We're 24 years in," said Henry, who doubles as the band's manager. "We're interactive, we're part...
Niwot High School Athletic Director Joe Brown announced that Todd Trobaugh has been hired as the new Cougar girls basketball coach. Trobaugh has not coached at the high school level, but has extensive experience coaching girls club basketball. He grew up in South Boulder, attended Fairview High School, Colorado State University, and obtained a business degree from CU. In his day job, Trobaugh works in the banking industry in operational risk and compliance. "I started coaching as a girls...
