All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Niwot had a busy start to the first week of June, with Rock and Rails opening on Thursday night, June 2, followed by the First Friday Art Walk, and the first of two Sidewalk Sales on Saturday. Local retail businesses offered special promotions and musicians played all day around town in the brilliant sunshine. A few pop up vendors dotted around, storytellers and bubbles plus the popcorn truck with kettlekorn and shaved ice providing a wonderful atmosphere for shoppers and diners all day. The...
Thomas Cross Theobald Dec. 18, 1942 - Nov. 10, 2021 A Celebration of Life for Tom Theobald will be held on Saturday, June 11th at 1:00 pm at the Left Hand Grange in Niwot. Tom died Nov. 10, 2021, after a long-time illness. His family invites the Niwot community to attend and to bring stories of Tom to share. For more information on Tom’s contributions to the Niwot community, please see Tom’s full obituary in the Dec. 15, 2021 issue of the Left Hand Valley Courier....
Boulder County Road Maintenance will begin annual chip seal work on county roadways on Tuesday, June 7. The work will take place between 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and is expected to last into early July, weather permitting. A complete list of roads is available below and can be found on the county website. Chip sealing work consists of applying liquid asphalt to a road surface followed by a layer of one-quarter inch chips that essentially create a new layer on top of the road. A week after the chips are applied, crews...
You've likely driven past it many times, glancing at the impressive red brick Queen Anne-style house on 63rd Street, just south of Jay Road, without realizing its historic significance. The property which includes the house at 3902 N. 63rd Street, now consists of 78 acres, but the property once spanned the area between Haystack Mountain and Valmont Butte. This is the story of Chambers Homestead/Fort Chambers, the Boulder County Poor Farm and Hospital. Many Indegenous peoples consider this land...
This year's Rock & Rails season kicked off–appropriately–with the high-energy funk music of Funkiphino. Niwot's free summer concert series runs every Thursday night, June through August, in Whistle Stop Park. As the recipient of the 2006 Governor's Award for Downtown Excellence for Best Promotional Event, Rock & Rails is well-attended, and much loved. Rock & Rails is sponsored by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association and the Niwot Business Association, with funding from the Niwot Local Imp...
The Niwot Community Association (NCA) Board returned to the Mountain View Fire Protection District conference room for its monthly meeting on June 1st. It had not been possible to meet at that location since early in the pandemic. The annual Niwot Cleanup Day was held on an unusually chilly May 21st. Organized by Board member John Barto, this event allows NCA members to drop off a variety of types of household and yard materials at the temporary site set up for the event in the Niwot High School parking lot. It is free for NCA members, which...
One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day. In the movie, Bill Murray has a line in one of his reports that is also a favorite of mine. “Well, it’s Groundhog Day…again.” That resonates with me more than you know. Well it’s pothole season…again. After a Colorado winter we see an influx of potholes around the state. This is not the fault of road crews, it's just our weather tearing into the roads as it does every year. So why bring up these axle killers? They can also be dangerous for drivers. Often, I see people driving along the roadway and...
Tom Wilke Up-a-Creek-Robotics "A robot is a machine that can perform tasks," explains Tom Wilke, taking a sip of his drink outside at lunch in Niwot's Cottonwood Square. "A self-driving Tesla, for example, is a robot." Wilke is a retired mechanical engineer and adjunct professor at CU Boulder, who is also a mountain climber and author and chairman of the board of Boulder Meals on Wheels. But what we're talking about this particular day is a huge victory he shared as a mentor to...
Rock & Rails is a well-loved, much-attended community event in Niwot's very own Whistle Stop Park. As the recipient of the 2006 Governor's Award for Downtown Excellence for Best Promotional Event, Rock & Rails benefits many who volunteer to make all the magic happen. The free summer concert series takes the stage at Niwot's Whistle Stop Park at 1st Avenue and Murray Street in historic downtown Niwot, Colorado, and is produced by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association in conjunction with the Niwot...
Have you ever heard of a crocodile who was afraid of swimming? That's what inspired Denver-based, local author and illustrator Kaz Windness to write her first children's book, Swim Jim! Debuting this June, The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop is celebrating Windness' book with a festive, pool-themed party on Saturday, June 4, at 2 p.m. In addition to a reading of the picture book, Windness will give a drawing demonstration and The Wandering Jellyfish team will host a crocodile egg hunt, costume contest, a giveaway and more. While Swim Jim! is her...
"Kore That Awakening," a sculpture on loan from Ukrainian artist Egor Zigura, is getting closer to calling Niwot home. On April 1, the Sculpture Park Committee of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA), made up of Anne Postle, Lisa Rivard, and Jill Whitener, kicked off a fundraising effort to purchase the sculpture. Since the event, the fund to purchase the $25,000 sculpture has continued to grow. Vicki Maurer, treasurer of the NCAA, said the total money raised to date sits at $9,899.60....
Now in its 11th year, the Niwot Cultural Arts Association’s 2022 Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show is just around the corner. All entries are due by Monday, June 13. Each entry must feature Niwot in some way and will be used by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA) to market and show the uniqueness of Niwot. The cost to enter is $30, with $15 charged for a second entry. Anne Postle, owner of Osmosis Art and Architecture and originator of the event, said, “Entries have already started to come in. It’s going to be a really good year.” Recentl...
Five months have elapsed since the Marshall Fire, and as the affected families continue the long process of rebuilding their homes and lives, Niwot's 'Small Town, Big Heart' campaign continues to drive on toward the Niwot Business Association's goal of donating $100,000 to victims of the devastating fire. Deborah Read Fowler, vice-president of the NBA and local broker at the Niwot Colorado Landmark office, has spearheaded the Small Town, Big Heart Wildfire Relief Fund campaign from day one. "I...
When The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop moved into its downtown Niwot home last year, it breathed new life into one of Niwot's most iconic spaces. Owners Carissa Mina and Jerilyn Patterson brought their colorful, curated selection of books, toys and gifts to the northwest corner of 2nd Avenue and Franklin Street, and now laugh together about ways their building's history keeps making itself known. "So many people come in here and are like, 'I used to have a business in this building,' said...
When The St. Vrain Rotary Club of Longmont merged with the Rotary Club of Niwot 18 months ago, in addition to members uniting - their fundraising events also combined. One of those events was the annual duck race in Longmont which was the main fundraiser of the former St. Vrain club. Now the duck race is being organized by The Rotary Club of Niwot and will take place on July 9th at 6 p.m. at Longmont's annual Rhythm on the River festival where thousands of little rubber ducks float down the rive...
Rock & Rails, Niwot's signature summer concert series, kicks off the 2022 season on June 2 with popular local guitarist Kevin Dooley opening for Funkiphino at Whistle Stop Park, located at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Murray Street. Satir DeMarco, who has booked the bands for Niwot's summer concert series since its start in 2006, announced the lineup. Funkiphino is a 13-member band, based out of Longmont, which performed in Washington, D.C. for the 55th Presidential Inaugural Ball in...
Graduation ceremonies for the Niwot High School Class of 2022 will be held at Niwot High on the football field, Saturday, May 28, at 10 a.m. Students and faculty will be seated on the field, with spectators gathered on the hillside. Seniors, who have had a high school career like none before them due to the pandemic, were honored with a car parade from the high school down Niwot Road and through the historic downtown business district on May 19....
The Friday night summer car shows outside of Niwot Market return Friday, May 27. Bert Steele, owner of Niwot Market, will park his classic red pickup in the parking lot, and invites other car enthusiasts to display their classic vehicles from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. In the past, the event has attracted vehicles and their owners from various communities in Colorado. The public is invited to inspect the vehicles, listen to the stories behind the vehicles, and reminisce. Vehicle owners can pick up a...
The Memorial Day kickoff to summer calls for a barbeque, friends, and outdoor lounging. To add to your gatherings, local Niwot chefs from La Musette at The Wheel House and Cimmini's restaurants have provided us with recipes from some of their favorite lighter, fresher foods. Both of these take a little prep but they have fresh, bright and interesting flavors anyone would enjoy. If you don't make them for this Memorial Day weekend, keep the recipes nearby for later in the summer when it's too...
Inkberry Books came through with yet another fascinating story. Justin Courter's The Heart of it All is a little bit mid-life-crisis, a little rebellious and extremely engaging. We first meet narrator John Ritter shortly after he's moved back to Cincinnati, or "Cincinasty," as he calls it, in order to help his grandmother who has Alzheimer's. But this homecoming is more difficult than he perhaps expected-in addition to taking care of his grandmother, he works for a crook of an old "friend," is...
We regularly celebrate our town's namesake, Chief Niwot (Left-Hand in Arapaho), for his peace-oriented beliefs and actions. In fact, the stories of his leadership and subsequent betrayal by Col. John Chivington and his troops at Sand Creek have been documented in many books, including Boulder author Margaret Coel's "Chief Left Hand." Chief Niwot banded together with other tribal leaders in a commitment to finding peaceful relationships with white settlers. They included Niwot's brother, Neva,...
It's a service we take for granted today - our local fire department. But until the late 1960s, Niwot's fire protection came from Longmont, which at the time had only one truck assigned to cover rural calls. All of that changed in 1968, however, when the Left Hand Men's Club formed Niwot's volunteer fire department. Only Mike Holubec and Pete Plantiga had any previous experience, so they were chosen to conduct a training program. "We had training sessions at the Left Hand Water office," Holubec...
The area around in and around Niwot, known as the Left Hand Valley, has deep agricultural roots dating back to the late 1800s in the early settlement days of Colorado Pioneer families such as the Caywoods, Williamses and the Goulds turned the prairie land into productive soils, producing wheat, sugar beets, and alfalfa. Many farms started alongside the nearby railroads and Niwot became a farming town, even having it;s own dairy and creamery. Many homes were built on farmland in the early 1900s,...
On May 23, 2022, Sheriff Joe Pelle rescinded the Stage 1 fire restrictions that were in place for unincorporated Boulder County. Recent snow and rain storms have increased the relative humidity within the county and impacted fuels moisture, which has decreased the fire danger. Relying on the competent scientific evidence provided by the National Weather Service, the Boulder County Sheriff has determined the conditions are such that fire restrictions are no longer necessary in unincorporated Boulder County. Residents are reminded that although...
This time of year, a good spring cleaning is at the top of many people's list. So the annual Niwot Community Association (NCA) Cleanup Day is here just in time. The event takes place Saturday May 21st from 8:00 a.m. to noon or until the dumpsters are full. John Barto, NCA member and event organizer said that the event has been happening for more than 20 years. "Cleanup Day started as a couple dumpsters for trash and yard waste and a swap area. The event has grown every year since then with...
Niwot's "Around the World Day", on Saturday, May 14, integrated dozens of cultures at this special event, back for its second year after a Covid-inspired debut in 2021. Twenty-three countries were represented by 32 local businesses through live music, specialty food and drinks, crafts, and costumes. Pedestrians were charmed by the Vikings' weapons display in "Scandinavia" on Second Avenue; bands and solo artists performing with African drums, celtic instruments, accordions, Spanish guitars, and...
Niwot’s Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop and Longmont Public Library are jointly hosting a book launch for Denver-based author Andrea Wang on May 21 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the library at 409 4th Avenue in Longmont. Wang is an acclaimed children’s book author and her book “Watercress” was awarded the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a New England Book Award, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. Her upcoming picture book, “Luli and the Language of Tea,” follows quiet, five-year-old Luli in her Engl...
Left Hand Giving Circle members volunteered at Bella Boutique, a nonprofit that promotes inclusion and positive self worth by providing no-cost formal gowns and accessories to teens in financial need. During their time at the boutique, members served as personal stylists to help students find their perfect prom look!...
The Big Tom Colony sounds like a rock band (remember Big Head Todd?) or maybe a nudist camp, but it's actually a colony of feral cats named for Abo's Pizza businessman Tom Smathers, or "Big Tom '' as he is locally known. Niwot residents have known Big Tom for 24 years as the former owner of Abo's in Niwot. Nowadays you can catch a glimpse of Smathers running his outdoor catering business or Abo's Pizza in North Boulder. His catering business, Abo's Special Events & Catering, provides pizza from...
Inkberry Books continues its program of author readings on Friday, May 27 and Saturday, May 28 at 7:00 p.m. each evening. Since opening in 2018, the bookstore has hosted over 100 authors from Colorado and other parts of the country. Niwot resident and longtime bookstore enthusiast Linda Bevard expressed her appreciation for the bookstore and its events during Niwot's Around the World Day May 14. "I almost feel like it's a family...," Bevard said. "Because there are so many of us who come back ev...
Niwot will host the next Five Kingdoms dinner to benefit the newly re-formed Slow Food chapter in Boulder. Brandon Pitcher launched 5 Kingdom dinners over 15 years ago to highlight a new approach to food, by focussing on protozoa, algae, plants, animals and fungi. Pitcher’s philosophy is that by eating these five food groups, we are creating an ecosystem of sustainable food on earth, which is better for the planet, and better for our health. Pitcher hosts regular dinners with an educational focus and to also benefit non–profit org...
We know Coot Lake as a mecca for nature lovers, fisherman, and some of the happiest dogs on the planet, but have you ever wondered how Coot Lake got its name? Is the moniker, by chance, related to the lake's saucy history? That saucy history happens to be surprisingly short, given that the lake didn't exist until the late 1960's. Boulder's Rick Marlowe was a lifeguard at Boulder reservoir and remembers contractors moving dirt in 1968. He says the construction must have blocked a drainage...
Residents of Boulder County have long endured the volatile moods of Mother Nature, including the Blizzard of 1913 that dropped four feet of snow in just two days. There were years when swarms of grasshoppers descended, devouring everything from crops to window curtains to paint on the walls. Today, we no longer experience swarms of locusts, and the deep snows of the last century have diminished as Colorado's climate continues to change. Yet like our predecessors, we still suffer from Colorado's...
The Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) approved five funding requests at its regular meeting May 3, including funding for three popular community events. Scott Firle chaired the meeting, with advisory board members Lisa Rivard, Cornelia Sawle, Bruce Rabeler, Jeff Knight, Heidi Storz and Keith Waters also in attendance, along with Boulder County liaison Mark Ruzzin. The Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA) and the Niwot Business Association (NBA), co-managers of the Rock & Rails summer...
Back by popular demand, the House Blend Band will start its 2022 concert series after Around the World Day in Niwot on Saturday, May 14. The eight-piece band, consisting of Old Oak Coffee House owners Michael Tomich (lead singer, keyboard, guitar) and Patty Machen (viola, mandolin and percussion), Michael's daughter, Paris Tomich (Lead vocals and percussion), and local Niwot/Boulder/Longmont residents Andrew Bunin (bass guitar, backing vocalist), John Lawrence (Drummer), Eric Ottem (trumpet, har...
The Niwot Community Association’s (NCA) monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 4, covered a multitude of timely issues and events ranging from the latest on the Boulder Library District to the organization’s array of upcoming events. Boulder Library District update The NCA has been keeping close tabs on the possibility that a Boulder Public Library District could potentially include Niwot in its scope. In late April, the Boulder City Council declared it saw “no path forward to reconcile with the Boulder County Commissioners on a library resol...
Born in the Bronx and having traveled the world, Kathy Trauner, now a long-time Colorado resident, turned a great idea into reality last year for Niwot residents feeling trapped by Covid. The owner of Fly Away Home gift and art shop in Cottonwood Square, Trauner inaugurated "Around the World Day," a creative event which will return here May 14. Inspired by the wish to bring international experiences to Niwot residents when travel was restricted, the event invites all businesses on 2nd Avenue...
Poo per mile. It's probably not a measure you've ever heard of. But on May 1st the calculation came in at 268 piles of poo per mile on the trails at Coot Lake and west of the Boulder Reservoir. The "Let's DOO it" campaign brought out volunteers and staff from City of Boulder Parks and Recreation who marked each poo pile with an orange flag that said "Bag it. Pack it. Can it." There were a total of 671 piles found along 2.5 miles of trails, amounting to 36.5 pounds of waste. BPR staff also engage...
Niwot resident Leonard Sitongia was selected as one of seven volunteers to be recognized by Boulder County during National Volunteer Week. Sitongia, who serves on the board of directors of the Niwot Community Association and the Niwot Historical Society, was recognized for his work with the Community Planning and Permitting Department’s Mobility for All Technology Ambassador Program. He has donated over 200 hours to the M4A program. For his efforts, Sitongia received a grant of $900 to support his continued work on the M4A program. Sitongia r...
In this modern world of telephones, faxes and emails, the joy of letter writing has almost disappeared. We've become too reliant on the instant feedback of the internet. In the 1800s, however, residents of Boulder County anxiously awaited the stagecoach, afternoon train, or the rural mail wagon to bring letters from their families back east. Establishing a postal system to serve homesteaders along the Front Range was an impressive accomplishment by the U.S. Post Office Department. New...
Colorado Landmark Realtors, based in Boulder County, was recognized by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® for its Marshall Fire recovery efforts. President and CEO Paul Boomsma announced the "Leading RE Good Things" award April 15 based on the company's "incredible efforts" in assisting Boulder County residents affected by the Marshall Fire in January of this year. This recognition was shared across 70 countries and over 150,000 real estate agents across the globe. In a press releas...
Attention, all bird lovers! There has been an outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has now spread to wild birds in 30 U.S. states. According to recent data collected in April, the most susceptible to the flu are poultry, waterfowl, raptors, and vultures. The flu has been detected in commercial flocks, backyard flocks, and wild birds in Colorado. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is very low risk of infection for the general human population. Symptoms of the flu that may appear...
