All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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On Saturday, Dec. 16, some 200 Niwotians gathered in front of the Niwot Market for the unveiling of a bench dedicated to the memory of beloved community member Bert Steele. It was a touching final farewell to Steele, who died Aug. 7, 2023, after a short illness. Born on Oct. 16, 1950, Steele founded Niwot Market in 2002. A hard worker and passionate business owner, he cultivated a commercial space that has become truly integral to the community of Niwot. Niwot Market is frequently at the center...
Bert Steele was a beloved member of the Niwot community for over twenty years as the face of the Niwot Market in the Cottonwood Square shopping center. Steele, who died last summer after a short illness, was known for his friendly down-home demeanor, and made friends wherever he went. Steele and his family turned the Niwot Market into a successful business that also hosts several other small businesses within its doors. Steele was also involved in most of Niwot's many community events,...
The Boulder County Public Works Department is hosting an open house at the Left Hand Grange No. 9 in Niwot, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The focus of the meeting is to present information on a proposed underpass from the planned Highway 119 (Diagonal HIghway) median-bikeway into Niwot on 2nd Avenue. County officials hope to gather feedback from the community on the location of the underpass and how it would connect bicyclists and pedestrians using the median bikeway to Niwot. The...
The results of the 2023 Niwot Window Decorating Competition are in. You voted for your favorite business window decorations from Nov. 24 through Dec. 9, and the lucky winners are: First place - Few of a Kind Vintage and Mercantile Second place - Niwot Inn & Spa Third place - Porchfront Homes The lively competition was sponsored by the Niwot Business Association. Congratulations to all of the participants....
The Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) Advisory Committee approved two funding proposals from the Niwot Business Association (NBA) at its Dec. 5 meeting. Chuck Klueber presented a request for funding to clean up the area along Niwot Road where Eddie Running Wolf's iconic tree carvings have been removed for restoration. The application requested $862 toward the total cost of $1,062, based on a bid from Niwot arborist company We Love Trees. The NBA and the Niwot Cultural Arts Association each...
This year's Holiday Market at the Left Hand Grange had a record 1,003 people attending, marking a huge jump from the previous record of 635 people in one day, according to Deborah Fowler, one of the event organizers. This year, the Niwot Nickel, a specially made wooden coin worth $5 off one item in December at participating merchants, highlighted the event. Those visiting the Grange also received a tote bag with the Niwot Business Association logo on it. The Festive Food Hall at the Grange...
Professional Holiday Portraits Sunday, Dec. 10, 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. Professional photographer Noah Katz of NJK Photography will be providing holiday portrait sessions in a beautifully decorated setting at the Left Hand Grange. Each session is $135 and includes 15 minutes with the photographer and one fully edited image of your choice from the session delivered digitally. NJK Photography is generously donating 15% of all fees to the Grange. To schedule your session, visit https:/...
Voting is open for the 2023 Window Decorating Competition sponsored by the Niwot Business Association. Many participating Niwot businesses have decorated their windows for the holidays, adding to a festive holiday shopping experience. You can vote for your favorite festive window online through this form, or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zib9XbYN5L1gWzCQaPrLUbUGNHzYWPe1vNUFzB-rulA/viewform?edit_requested=true. Turn in your ballot online for a chance to win a prize. Participating businesses include: •2nd Nature Hair Lounge •Belle Ter...
Niwot High School is host to over 60 different student-run clubs, one of which is the impressive Model United Nations Club. According to the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), "Model UN is a simulation of the UN General Assembly and its other multilateral bodies where students perform an ambassador role while debating topics such as gender equality, climate action, global health, and more." The Niwot High Model United Nation members, under the supervision of...
Temperatures in the low 20s and light snow did not keep the crowds away from Niwot's Enchanted Evening Nov. 24, nor the Holiday Parade the next morning on Nov. 25. ENCHANTED EVENING The annual tree-lighting ceremony in Niwot began with an abbreviated concert by what one band member referred to as the Niwot Community "Semi-Freezing" Free Grange Band. Niwot Inn & Spa proprietor Cornelia Sawle opened up her conference room to allow band members to "warm-up," a term that took on a dual meaning on...
It's that holiday shopping time of year again, and the Niwot Holiday Market will be open beginning Saturday, Dec. 2. The Market will be set up in the Left Hand Grange and throughout downtown Niwot and Cottonwood Square from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with lots of opportunity for holiday fun and magic. The Market will return on Saturday, Dec. 9, again from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vendor stands offering various seasonal goodies, local art, crafts and trinkets will line the sidewalks, and several local...
A crew of workers, led by Bryan Buikema of C8 Design + Fabrication out of Berthoud, and David Schaldach of Niwot's We Love Trees, arrived early on Wednesday morning, Nov. 15, at the intersection of Second Avenue and Niwot Road to remove the two iconic tree carvings by Native American artist Eddie Running Wolf for restoration. The willow tree trunks carved by the late artist once lined a lateral of the Hinman Ditch that ran along Niwot Road to irrigate farmland around Niwot before housing...
In an uncertain world, Niwot's annual Holiday Magic events provide traditions, nostalgia and hope for the future. Holiday Magic in Niwot is comprised of four main events: Enchanted Evening on Nov. 24, the Friday after Thanksgiving; the Holiday Parade on the following day, Nov. 25; and then two Holiday Market days at the Left Hand Grange on the first two Saturdays in December, Dec. 2 and 9. During this magical time, there are several opportunities for children to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus at the...
Blue skies and unseasonably warm temperatures set the stage for Niwot's November 11th tribute to military veterans. The ceremony began at 11:00 after The Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band played several patriotic songs as the crowd gathered, including John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," and "America." The colors were presented by Niwot Scout Troop 161, followed by the singing of the "Star Spangled Banner." This is the fifth year for the event and the veterans banner...
Catherine McHale is the recipient of the Left Hand Valley Courier’s Left Hand Laurel for her volunteer work in Niwot, most notably establishing the popular event, “Dancing Under the Stars.” McHale owns Power & Purpose Marketing in Niwot, and has been a member of the Niwot community for about 13 years. She was Niwot’s Economic Development Director for a number of years, leading efforts to fill Niwot’s commercial spaces. She started getting involved in the community as a business owner. “After a...
Santa visits the Left Hand Grange Friday, Nov. 24, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 25, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The end of November brings two opportunities for the little ones to meet Santa in person at the Grange to tell him all about their holiday wish lists. Following Niwot's Enchanted Evening tree lighting event on Nov. 24 at 6 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus will be meeting with children in the exquisitely decorated downstairs hall of the Grange. The next day, Saturday, Nov. 25, Santa will...
The Niwot community was shocked and saddened by the death of Niwot Market owner Bert Steele following a short illness last summer. A wrestling scholarship at Niwot High School was established in his memory at the request of his family, but many in the community looked for an opportunity to create a permanent visual memorial to beloved businessman and philanthropist, who for over 20 years, quietly got to know his customers and supported every event and project in Niwot, with little to no...
The tree carvings by the late artist Eddie Running Wolf, which lined the south side of Niwot Road near the intersection with 79th Street in Niwot, have come to symbolize the community of Niwot and its connection to the Arapaho people who historically occupied the Left Hand Valley. The first of those tree carvings, Spear Lodge Man, was removed for restoration two years ago, and is almost complete, thanks to the work of Running Wolf's son, Dustin Wolf, and Niwot resident Jeff Wolcott. Wolf has...
Historically in the United States, a wooden nickel was not typically legal tender, but instead more of a novelty coin often issued by merchants as part of a promotion. Wooden nickels became popular in the 1930s, though they may date back to the 1880s. Niwot has had its own share of wooden nickels through the years, issued by local businesses. Thanks to local Niwotians such as Adam Robinson and Tim and Carrie Wise, the idea of re-introducing a new wooden Niwot Nickel was born. The Niwot Business...
The Niwot Pumpkin Walk which took place during the month of October was a big success. Shoppers picked up a Pumpkin Pass from Deborah Fowler Real Estate, and then visited Niwot shops to get them stamped. After making at legends ast four purchases, participants were entered into a grand drawing to receive gift cards from Niwot businesses. The event was sponsored by Deborah Read Fowler Real Estate-Slifer Smith & Frampton, and the Niwot Business Association, with additional funding provided by the...
Niwot's Local Improvement District Advisory Committee (LID), made up of nine community members appointed by the Boulder County Commissioners, unveiled a Master Plan for Niwot, focusing primarily on the business district, at a meeting of Niwot's primary community non-profit organizations Nov. 6. The first meeting of Niwot organizations took place in the fall of 2021, when each organization had an opportunity to describe its mission and planned projects. The Nov. 6 meeting was a followup to the...
Galleries and other small businesses opened their doors to art-loving community members during November's First Friday Art Walk, Nov. 3. But in the middle of a successful event, one of the organizers, Anne Postle of Osmosis Gallery, announced some news. The schedule for First Friday Art Walks in 2024 will be different. There would be a total of six First Friday Art Walks in 2024 which will be held in March, June, July, August, September and December. "We want to allow more of our businesses,...
On Saturday, Nov. 11, Niwot residents will have the opportunity to honor United States military veterans, and especially those with a community connection. The fifth annual veterans banner ceremony will be held in front of the Left Hand Grange at 11:00 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month, marking what was originally known as Armistice Day at the end of World War I in 1918. The Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band will be on hand beginning at 10:30 a.m. to perform music as the...
Inkberry Books, founded by Gene Hayworth and Keith Waters in 2018, holds a collection of over 6,000 books on its shelves. Rows of hardback books are neatly placed on large bookshelves, often featuring Colorado based writers and first edition fiction novels. Hayworth retired from the University of Colorado at Boulder as an Associate Professor Emeritus with the University Libraries in 2021. “I've been collecting and selling books for about 30 years,” Hayworth said. “I started selling books online....
Snow came early on Saturday, Oct. 28, but it did not deter the hundreds of costumed children (and adults) who gathered in Niwot for the annual Great Pumpkin Party. Pat Murphy, who has been the champion and chief sponsor of the event for over 25 years, was on hand to welcome the children and their parents. "Such a great turnout," she said, in spite of the weather. Murphy's The Niwot Group at Compass Realtors offered treats and hosted a petting zoo for the children. The Niwot Business Association...
The Great Pumpkin Party is one of Niwot's most beloved traditions, with costumed children of all ages, often accompanied by pets dressed up as well, going trick-or-treating at Niwot businesses in Old Town and Cottonwood Square. This year, the event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. And as is customary, 2nd Avenue will be closed briefly at 11:30 a.m. for a children's parade. The 2-block affair kicks off with a choral performance by students from Niwot Elementary School in...
Niwot resident Art Stapp supported many causes during his lifetime, and at the top of his list was the St. Vrain Valley School District, and specifically, Niwot High School. Stapp died suddenly July 19, 2023 at the age of 74 of a heart ailment. Stapp was best known for Stapp Interstate Toyota, a business he and his father started in 1974 as Longmont Toyota. Stapp never sought recognition for his many charitable efforts in Niwot and beyond, but it is hard to find someone who has not been touched...
Colorado Governor Jared Polis is scheduled to appear in Niwot on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 11:30 a.m. at Whistle Stop Park. Polis will be on hand for a ceremony to celebrate the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) obtaining several grant awards to help fund the Colorado Highway 119 Project. CDOT has been working in conjunction with Boulder County Public Works and RTD, to redesign bus lanes on the Diagonal Highway, and to construct a pedestrian/bikeway in the median of the highway to connect Boulder and Longmont. The Niwot Business...
Saturday Sept. 23 brought the return of Niwot's annual "Out & About," a day to celebrate the small businesses of Niwot. Sponsored by the Niwot Business Association (NBA), this annual event brings out tents and stands featuring Niwot businesses and live music along Second Avenue and in Cottonwood Square. Out & About was started last year as a way to showcase the various goods and gifts from businesses in Niwot, and to bring support and awareness for Niwot's charming business community....
Whether you love them or fear them, insects make up approximately 80% of animals found on earth, and make up the majority of pollinators. This weekend, Niwot celebrated one of the most well-known and well-loved species of pollinators – bees. The over 900 species of bees found in Colorado play an integral part to the farming culture Niwot was built upon. From 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept.16, 2nd Avenue and Cottonwood Square were taken over by various small businesses, artisans, and b...
The recent incident of a black bear attacking and killing a goat in the Dry Creek-Meadowdale subdivision area of Niwot has Niwot residents concerned. Rob Gordon, a twenty-year Niwot resident and the friendly face behind the counter at Niwot Liquor on Second Avenue, had reported in July of last year as having seen eight bears at the intersection of Second Avenue and Franklin Street. Gordon was watering grass for the Niwot Business Association when he saw the bears. He turned to get his camera...
As we transition into autumn, one of the most popular events in Niwot is coming to a close – the weekly "Dancing Under the Stars" event. A free dance lesson of varying genres followed by a public dance takes place every Friday during the warm summer evenings from June to the end of September. Originally scheduled to end Sept. 22, a "rain date" has extended the season through Sept. 29 with contra dance. Dancing Under the Stars started out in Boulder at the University of Colorado, but when C...
The Niwot Business Association is excited to sponsor the Niwot Pumpkin Walk for the third year in a row. The concept is simple - participants will check in to pick up a Pumpkin Passport and swag bag, (one per household), at DRF Real Estate - Slifer Smith & Frampton, located in Suite E behind The Old Oak Coffeehouse in downtown Niwot. The swag bag will contain the Pumpkin Passport as well as vouchers for discounted drinks and food donated by local restaurants, good through the month of October. D...
The second annual “Out and About” in Niwot is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Out and About, sponsored by the Niwot Business Association, is designed to raise local awareness of what is available in the Niwot business community, including Old Town and Cottonwood Square, according to Kate Head of Pebble Art Jewelry, one of the organizers. Local shops, restaurants and service businesses will be showcasing what makes their Niwot business unique throughout the day. Start the day at one of several restaurants that serve wee...
The Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee (LID) met Tuesday, Sept. 5, at the Niwot Inn, and approved six out of seven funding requests, all submitted by the Niwot Business Association. Kate Head of Pebble Art Jewelry presented a funding request for Out and About, a one-day event, now in its second year, designed to allow "all businesses to showcase their services and products in a fun way all around town," according to the application. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept....
Just off of Highway 119 on the north side of Niwot Road is a new carved rock sign, welcoming visitors who get off the Diagonal Highway to enter Niwot. Montana Heather, a Niwot High School senior, created the sign, located on the north side of Niwot Road just across from Peppertree Drive, as his Eagle Scout project. The planning and coordinating behind the construction of the sign took almost two years due to the spacing requirements of the sign itself, which required approval by Boulder County b...
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...
The 3rd Annual Niwot Honey Bee Harvest Festival is a family friendly community event that celebrates the crucial role played by honey bees, the 900-plus species of Colorado native bees, and other pollinators' role in pollinating crops and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. The event is sponsored by the Niwot Business Association (NBA) with additional funding provided by the Niwot Local Improvement District. Event co-planners are Niwot residents Victoria Keen, Dawn Server of Meadowlake Honey, and D...
The Niwot Business Association (NBA) and Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) Advisory Committee have been hard at work to convince Boulder County and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to add an underpass into Niwot as part of the Colorado Highway 119 Safety and Mobility Improvements Project and Bikeway Project. County funding for the underpass design has now been approved. Scott Firle, chairperson of the LID, said, "[The LID effort] started about two years ago when we had our...
When Robin Abb ("Rockin' Robin") and the Niwot Business Association came up with the idea for Niwot's Rhythm on the Rails summer concert series in 2005 when the bandstand was built in Whistle Stop Park, she had already decided who should manage the sound. Craig Cutcliff, the sound engineer, remembers that moment clearly. "I started the first year that they had it. Rockin' Robin called me up," he said. "I had mixed her band. So that's when I started. And I've been doing it ever since." Cutcliff...
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...
At the start of Niwot's Flower Fest last Saturday, Aug. 5, a huge line trailed outside Fly Away Home Decor, going all the way to the gas station in Cottonwood Square at the end of the block. Some people arrived an hour before 10 a.m., the official start of the Flower Fest, in order to receive one of the free 75 baskets for the Flower Walk. "There were around two hundred people. We had to turn people away." said Sarah Cioni, owner of Belle Terre Floral, a florist shop specializing in bridal...
Dancing Under the Stars, an event that has been thriving in Niwot for four years, is still going strong. Every Friday night in the summer, a stage is set up in the parking lot of Cottonwood Square located at Niwot Road and 79th Street. Free dance lessons begin at 7:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m., and then the dance floor overflows until 9:30 p.m., well after the stars have started to shine. The DJ plays the genre of the week including salsa, swing, and Cuban salsa and the lessons get everyone ready...
Niwot’s first Flower Fest will be held on Aug. 5 from 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. on Second Avenue and in Cottonwood Square Shopping Center in celebration of colorful summer blooms. Sponsored by Niwot Business Association and the Niwot Local Improvement District, the fest is being organized by Sarah Cioni, the owner of Belle Terre Floral, and Kathy Trauner, the owner of Fly Away Home Decor, with several fun events planned and lots of free flowers. The first seventy-five arrivals at Fly Away Home for the Flower Fest will receive a punch card to u...
A steady stream of four-legged companions strode through Niwot on Saturday, July 15, with their human friends as part of the Pampered Pooch Walk sponsored by the Niwot Business Association. The Pampered Pooch Walk was a four-hour event starting at 10 a.m., encouraging all dog owners to walk around Niwot and visit local businesses for fun doggy opportunities, treats, and canine-related goodies. Most of the local businesses in Niwot participated in the Walk. Some, such as A Few of a Kind Vintage...
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...
On the 4th of July, the pancake breakfast fundraiser outside of Niwot Market attracted over a thousand people this year. The breakfast was sponsored and implemented by the Niwot Market, Pat Murphy-The Niwot Group of Compass Real Estate, the Niwot Community Association, the Niwot Patriotic Cookie Moms, the Niwot Local Improvement District, the Niwot Business Association and many volunteers. Proceeds from the event will be distributed among the Niwot High School Marching Band to assist with their...
