All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 51 - 100 of 373
With an uncertain, unpredictable forecast leading up to Lobsterfest on Saturday, June 8, the weather cooperated and good times were had by all at this year's event at Whistle Stop Park in Niwot. Deb Fowler, one of three head organizers of the event from the Niwot Business Association (NBA) along with Mary Coonce and Linda Klueber, reported 140 tickets sold for this year. "[Lobsterfest] is a fun, signature event for Niwot to kick off the summer," Fowler said. "It's a great opportunity to build...
Rock & Rails summer concerts continue on Thursday, June 13, with the opening act starting at 5 p.m. and the headliner lighting up the stage at 6:30 p.m. This week, Tim Ostdiek & Jenny return to open the stage with their upbeat folk music to get concert goers on their feet. Jenny Balagna and Ostdiek are an entertaining musical duo from Longmont who perform throughout the Front Range. Ostdiek recently released his new album "The Lost Days," available now on his website at https://timostdiek.com/....
Gargoyles are hard-working students, incredible team players, great friends, and an integral piece of the Niwot community over the summer at Lobsterfest and Rock & Rails. They assist in keeping events at Whistle Stop Park zero-waste. The Courier is spotlighting some of these friendly, essential volunteers. Meredith Champion has been volunteering as a Gargoyle for four years. She is currently an incoming sophomore at Niwot High School and is an active member of the Niwot community. Champion is a...
This year Rock & Rails' big opening night May 30 started out with a beautiful summer evening and ended with an electric bang as a lightning storm rolled in towards the end of the concert. There was a large turnout for the opening night this year, with a wide array of foldable chairs set up in front of the twirling people on the dance floor, as well as a variety of chairs set up in the Children's Park immediately next to the concert so kids could play and watch the concert. The two bands...
After the opening night concert was cut short due to a thunderstorm, fans are eager to attend week two of Niwot's Rock & Rails summer concert series on Thursday, June 6 at Whistle Stop Park. Concertgoers will be able to enjoy music, dancing, drinks, food trucks, activity booths, and people-watching from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. The June 6 event features The Hot Lunch Band, based in Denver, as the headliner. The band will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. Known for their high-energy funk, The Hot Lunch Band...
Rock & Rails' 2024 season has begun. The Left Hand Valley Courier will be featuring volunteers at the event that are a major aspect of the weekly concerts. Volunteers are integral in the organization and operation leading up to and during Rock & Rails every year. The organizers of Rock & Rails have made great efforts to make it a zero-waste venue. If you are a regular or returning patron to the Thursday night concerts, you're probably familiar with the people who sit on top of the recycling and...
Niwot's wildly popular Rock & Rails summer concert series resumes Thursday, May 30, at Whistle Stop Park, a week earlier than in prior years. Once again, all summer long concertgoers will be able to enjoy music, dancing, drinks, food trucks, activity booths and people-watching. Concerts are held from 5 -9 p.m. every Thursday through August 29, except for a break on the 4th of July. The May 30 event features Deborah Stafford & the Night Stalkers as the headliner taking the stage at 6:30 p.m. One...
The main hall of Left Hand Grange No. 9 is in the midst of getting a big update. Improvements to the gathering space over the past year are now officially from floor to ceiling. In May, newly installed ceiling tiles and freshly painted walls renewed and greatly improved the space's ambiance. Both bathrooms have also been updated with new fixtures and paint. Next up, literally, will be new lighting fixtures. The Grange invites the public to stop in and to peer through the windows to get a good lo...
As Rock & Rails concertgoers enter Whistle Stop Park, they can't miss the greeters holding large tip jars. Each week of Rock & Rails, non-profit organizations that have been approved following an application process are invited to collect donations for that week. In return, they help with set up, take down, and operation of the event. Half of the tip jar collections at the May 30 concert will go to Scouting America (the name changed from the Boy Scouts of America earlier this month). Donations...
After a weather delay on April 28, Niwot Youth Sports President Pat Longseth is eager to cut the ribbon on the new Niwot Youth Sports Monarch Improvement Project building. The end-of-season celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony is now scheduled for Sunday, June 23, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Hangge Fields at Monarch Park. The six-field complex, with access off of Highway 52 just west of 79th Street, is now home to a building that includes permanent restrooms, a concession area, and equipment storage...
Volunteers from the Niwot Cultural Arts Association and the Niwot Business Association gathered at Whistle Stop Park on Saturday, May 18, to clean out the Depot building, wash down the beer trailer, hang sponsors' banners and make sure the park is ready for the 18th season of Rock & Rails. The popular summer concert series kicks off on Thursday, May 30 at 5 p.m. when The Delta Sonics take the stage to open for Deb Stafford & The Night Stalkers. Co-Managers Vicki Maurer, Dan Hawk and Biff Warren...
Sales tax revenues for 2024 in Niwot continue to decline, based on data through February, with revenues down by 11% over the same period in 2023. Several funding requests were approved by the LID Advisory Committee (LID). Rock & Rails The 18th year of Rock & Rails, Niwot’s summer concert series, begins on Thursday, May 30, this year. The event takes place in Whistle Stop Park every Thursday night in June, July (except July 4th) and August, with 13 concerts total. Biff Warren, one of the three co-managers of the event, presented the funding r...
Rock & Rails, one of Niwot's favorite long-standing summer traditions, is returning for another fun-filled, jam-packed, "off the rails" concert series for 2024. The much anticipated summer concert series is starting a week early this year on Thursday, May 30, due to a Thursday off on the 4th of July. Through the efforts of sponsors and patrons, Rock & Rails continues to work towards being a zero-waste event and venue. Composting will resume as it always has, and though compost partners are...
Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea at the Grange Sunday, May 5, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Hosted by WINC (Women's International Niwot Club), this Alice-themed tea is open to the public to enjoy the whimsy of Wonderland. In addition to the delicious tea and treats, there will be a drawing and silent auction. Funds raised at the event will be donated to local charities. Tea is provided by Luminous Tea and music is sponsored by DRF Real Estate, Slifer Smith & Frampton. Purchase tickets by visiting Mad...
The Left Hand Valley Courier is spotlighting various local neighborhoods, their history, issues and general nature. This week, the Courier is spotlighting Cottonwood Park West. In the mid-20th century, Niwot began to grow from its origins as a small railroad town and farming community into a fully suburban community that provided housing, schools and amenities for families working in Boulder and Longmont. This was particularly true once IBM purchased land for its operations in the late 1950s,...
At her daughter-in-law's suggestion, Niwot's Amy Klein found a way to combine her love for kids with her love for baking. The result is the fastest growing chapter of Cake4Kids in the country. For her volunteer efforts, Klein is the April 2024 recipient of a Left Hand Laurel. "My daughter-in-law moved to California and told me about it four years ago," Klein recalled. The non-profit organization is based in California, but has chapters all over the country, but Klein discovered that Colorado...
Rick Clark and Bob Stadtherr are the latest recipients of Left Hand Valley Courier's Left Hand Laurel for their contributions to local music - most notably, as members of the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band. The Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, formed in 2005, is iconic in the Niwot community. The band plays at local events such as Rock & Rails, the July 4th Breakfast and Parade, Enchanted Evening, the Christmas Holiday Parade, and Niwot High School basketball...
When Merrick Blondeau was in elementary school, his sister Ana's friends were percussionists. Blondeau thought they were cool, so in sixth grade he joined the band at Sunset Middle School. Since then, he has simply loved making music and getting lost in music. Blondeau enjoys listening to classical music, "But," he said, "not often enough to be able to pick a favorite." One piece he does appreciate listening to is "The Planets," a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav...
Niwot's community focus is one of the things that make it a unique and fun place to live. Events like Niwot's summer concert series, Rock & Rails, winter festivities such as Winterfest and Let's Wine About Winter, and its holiday markets and parades bind the community together. Even the art around Niwot is special with tree carvings and left-hand chairs decorated to the theme of their surroundings. One often overlooked feature also contributes to the quaint aesthetic of Niwot. Little boxes with...
When Steven Craig joined the Rotary Club of Niwot shortly after building a home on Portico Lane in the Ranch at Clover Basin subdivision two years ago, he didn’t waste any time in making a difference. Sadly, Craig, who was recently chosen as President-Elect for the club, will not have a chance to serve in that position. Craig was attacked in his home on Dec. 19 in the middle of the night, and died of his injuries Dec. 24. Michael Lucky, 32, turned himself in to the Boulder County Sheriff’s off...
First, just in case you were wondering, most of these groups of letters are not acronyms but initialisms, as they cannot be pronounced as a word. For example, FOMO (fear of missing out), FedEx, and NASA are pronounced as words, consequently they are acronyms, whereas ATM is not pronounced “attem,” thus an initialism. But the initialisms listed above represent organizations in Niwot, including non-profits, a taxing district and its advisory committee, and a business committee, which are all quite important to local Niwot citizens. The ini...
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...
Although jazz guitarist Alex Fick has a busy schedule, with classes and performances in Marching Band, Advanced Jazz Band, Tenor/Bass Choir, and Drama, he still finds time to pursue a wide variety of other interests that engage his attention to detail and his passion to create. At the moment, he is inventing a card game. In addition, he is a volunteer gargoyle for Niwot's Rock & Rails summer concert series, and he recently made his own guitar. Over the summer. Fick built the guitar from...
The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop, primarily a children's bookstore, will be closing its doors on Dec. 9, two-and-a-half years after it opened in the former "Niwot Tribune" building on Second Avenue in Niwot. The bookshop, affectionately dubbed TWJ, has been a warm, welcoming place for community members and authors alike. It showcased local authors and diverse perspectives, and catered to young readers and those young at heart. The owners cited a failure to meet financial goals as leading to the...
Ah, Halloween in the Left Hand Valley! Trick-or-treaters, haunted houses, maybe a surprise blizzard… it’s a spookily festive time. But as you prepare to revel beneath your Barbie wig or Cousin It’s hair, be forewarned: this is the Season of the Witch. And the Left Hand Valley Courier has learned that sorcery may lurk in the local DNA. Go ahead; laugh it up. The proof lies in prominent family trees. “I’m a researcher. People who know me know about my research.” Donlyn Arbuthnot is a passionate historian, especially in the area of ancestral r...
After a two-year hiatus, Oktoberfest returned to Cottonwood Square on Saturday, Sept. 30. The festivities kicked off at 11 a.m. with a Nerf Animal Shooting Gallery for kids and adults alike. The inflatable animals included bears, deer and wild boar that could be "shot at" with a Nerf bow and arrow. The shooting gallery was run by the Niwot Rotary Club. Music started at 12:30 p.m. with the aptly named Wurst Case Scenario playing some fun German themed "Weird Al Yankovic" style music. The...
The Jared Music Foundation's (https://jaredmusic.org/) annual RISE Concert on Sept. 7 had the concert's highest turnout ever with an estimated 1,000 people attending the performance in Whistle Stop Park. The Jared Music Foundation is dedicated to helping children interested in music by granting scholarships and providing instruments to help aid young musicians follow their passion. RISE is the Foundation's main annual fundraiser. The money raised will go towards scholarships for children and...
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...
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...
This week's Rock & Rails headliner is possibly the first performer in the series to have ever set foot on Whistle Stop Park's gazebo stage. Nalani is a Niwot High School graduate with deep area roots and fond memories of the concert series. "Rock & Rails is my home," Nalani said. "I remember when they built the gazebo and feeling that it was an anchor point for a community space. I just stood up on it, with my arms wide open, and wondered what the space would be like with the crowd, vendors,...
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...
Boulder County announced that $100,000 is available to be awarded as grants to help launch or grow circular economy projects. The application deadline is September 6. "Circular Economy" is the county's rebranding of "Zero Waste." This grant program was formerly known as the "Zero Waste Funding Program." In 2005 the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) created the Sustainability Initiative to support the reduction of the environmental footprint of county employees, residents and businesses. In...
The annual Jared Music Foundation RISE Concert fundraiser comes to Whistle Stop Park Thursday, Sept. 7, at 5 p.m. The concert will begin with Mojomama, a funky blues Rock & Rails favorite, followed by Soul School, a crowd-pleasing multi-genre band that plays anything from soul to country to pop. Donations will provide young musicians from Boulder to Niwot to Longmont with scholarships and instruments to continue pursuing their love of music. The concert is free. Dancing is encouraged. Food...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Detroit Motown and classic soul will fill Whistle Stop Park this Thursday, Aug. 10, when Ron Ivory and One on One take the stage. The quartet will be playing a range of music from the 1950s through the 2000s including familiar songs from The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes. They're playing it during a year when the group is marking its 20th year performing in what's been one of its busiest years. "It started in 2003," said Ron Ivory, who serves as bandleader f...
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...
The Colorado Press Association announced that three Left Hand Valley Courier writers have received awards for the 2022 Colorado Better News Media Contest. Kristin Alger, Jack Carlough and Mary Wolbach Lopert have won awards for their work on the Courier. Alger has been writing for the Courier since 2022, though she has a wealth of experience in journalism. Carlough, a Silver Creek High School graduate who earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado, College of Media,...
Brass, sass, and a party are coming to the Rock & Rails stage Aug. 3 as Guerrilla Fanfare plays the event for the first time. Made up entirely of Denver-area musicians, they impart a New Orleans-style funk to their concerts, bringing trumpets, trombones, a tuba, saxophones and drums to their audience. The band's founder and manager Zach Brake is a 2016 CU Boulder alumnus and music education major who fell in love with brass band music while in school. He dreamed of starting a brass band at a tim...
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 &...
Nearly everyone can sing along with an Eagles song, and that makes The Long Run, an Eagles Tribute Band, a great choice to entertain the Rock & Rails crowd on July 27. The six-member band is a summer festival favorite, playing up and down the Front Range. Founded in 2009, they've also played larger venues including Red Rocks Amphitheatre and The Paramount Theatre. The band has plenty of talent. Band founder, drummer and vocalist Mark Trippensee has played with national acts including REO...
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...
In a world where music has the power to touch hearts and ignite souls, singer-songwriter Rebecca Folsom stands as a true luminary. A Rock & Rails favorite since 2006, Folsom and her band return to Niwot's favorite event, July 20. "Niwot is a home away from home," the Boulder native shared. "There's something special about the Niwot community and the strong sense of celebration in that community." This year, Folsom takes the stage propelled by the momentum of "Sanctuary," her newly released...
Beautiful blue skies and high temperatures brought out a huge crowd to the July 13 edition of Rock & Rails. And the bands didn't disappoint. Award-winning songwriter Tim Ostdiek got the evening started and was joined by Jenny Balagna, bringing their upbeat mixture of folk originals and covers to the stage. Ostdiek and Balagna are both based in the Longmont area and perform around the Front Range, often with a full complement of band members, but Niwot was treated to an intimate performance by...
