The Wandering Jellyfish anniversary bash

People continuously wandered in and out of the historic Niwot Tribune building on Second Avenue, now home to The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop, as the business celebrated its first anniversary, and the community showed up in support.

The bookshop, which largely caters to children's literature, opened last summer in historic downtown Niwot. To celebrate its one-year anniversary, co-owners Carissa Mina and Jerilyn Patterson organized a day-long event Aug. 13 with multiple activities for patrons to enjoy.

"I've seen a lot of people who come in and support us all the time are coming out again to support us on the anniversary, and it's amazing," said Alison Cave, lead TWJ bookseller.

Saturday's event was filled with various activities and giveaways, which included a regularly-scheduled storytime in the Niwot Children's Park, face painting, an author visit and free ice cream from Sweet Cow. Nearly the whole day was filled with chatter and laughter, with many residents thanking the TWJ team for simply being part of the community.

"The community does so much to support us and the other businesses in town," said Mina. "We hope that we're giving them as much as they're giving us."

Perhaps one of the most anticipated parts of the day was the author visit from graphic novelist Rich Moyer. The author, based in Denver, stopped by and held a brief Q&A and drawing demonstration in the middle of the day. The shop was packed with people–community members and other local authors alike–to the point that it was standing room only. He said that interacting with fans is something he really enjoys, and having the space to do that at the TWJ was something he looked forward to possibly doing again.

While TWJ has certainly made a name for itself with its diverse selection of books–which include many by POC and LGBTQ+ authors, as well as local authors and banned books, the shop has also made a mark on the community with its array of events and resources for the community.

"We're going to be focusing really hard on providing a lot more community events," Patterson said. "I'm also working a lot with schools right now to get authors connected so that kids can meet [them] and learn about writing."

She also teased that she's reached out to a "big author," and that Cave, who's in charge of many youth outreach programs, is working to organize a dungeons and dragons group for teens.

Short term goals for the TWJ team include developing writing workshops for both adults and students and simply getting more involved in Niwot events. Both Mina and Patterson have served as volunteers at Rock & Rails.

"We're really looking forward to continuing to get in our community and watching the kids grow up," said Mina.