The Wandering Jellyfish celebrates its one-year anniversary

Back in 2012, Carissa Mina and Jerilyn Patterson met at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). At the Rocky Mountain chapter, they worked together as critique partners and volunteers, and have been friends ever since.

The two always wanted to open up a bookstore, and once they saw the Niwot Tribune building available for lease, they jumped on it. They signed the lease in May of 2021, and officially opened the shop on August 14, 2021.

Over the past year, the Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop and its staff have served the Niwot community through their racially diverse and LGBTQ+ inclusive books, their selection of books published in Spanish, their fundraisers for the Marshall Fire Fund and other child-focused charities, their participation in Niwot's community events, their writer's workshops, and their author/storytime events.

"I feel like all of our past author events have been our favorite events, because we get to host a lot of our friends who are writers and members of the SCBWI," said Mina. "So I think we've just been having fun with all of them."

"We just love to get to hang out with them and promote their books and help their books find readers," said Patterson. "We have so many published authors in Colorado and in our region, and we are just so happy to be able to share that with our community."

So far, their most popular book on the market is "Swim, Jim!" by Kaz Windness, a picture book about a crocodile who finds the courage to face his fear of swimming. Windness was the featured author for the Storytime event on June 8 and a few of her signed copies are still available at the shop.

"I'm so proud of the bookshop itself," said Mina. "I just think that we did a great job putting it together and it seems like it's really become a place for the community, especially for the families and their kids who ride their bikes here."

Their one-year anniversary party will take place on Aug. 13 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with five events/activities squeezed in.

• Starting at 11 a.m. there will be a Storytime event at the Niwot Children's Park. The Wandering Jellyfish team will read picture books, sing songs, and maybe even do a little dancing! This event is geared toward children ages 2 to 6, but all are welcome.

• Then, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the bookshop will be open for face painting and henna tattoos.

• From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. come meet Rich Moyer, author of the "Ham Helsing" series. He will share his process of writing a graphic novel, but remember to RSVP on the bookshop's website in advance.

• From 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. the Sweet Cow MooMobile will be parked outside of the shop to serve ice cream.

• And finally, there will be a raffle to win the one-of-a-kind "Squish the Jellyfish" plushie. If you wish to enter that raffle, you must purchase a book from the bookshop that day and throw the receipt into the fishbowl.

• Other giveaways will be featured throughout the day as well.

To learn more, visit their website, http://www.twjbookshop.com, and follow them on Instagram and tiktok @twjbookshop.