Around the World Day shines despite the rain

Niwot's fourth annual Around the World Day and the Niwot community's demeanor were not dampened due to a little rain. While the turnout was limited at Around the World Day, spirits were high as Niwot, like EPCOT in Orlando, engaged in cultural activities, food, beverage, and music.

Winot Coffee showcased Colombia with authentic Colombian coffee, pastries, and decorations. Inkberry Books brought China to Niwot with two types of tea, fortune cookies, decorations, and music.

Niwot Market, with a Mexican theme, was busy all day for a steady stream of visitors, with Tony Crank providing live music in the morning, and the Longs Peak Brass Quintet providing a wide variety of tunes in the afternoon.

On Second Avenue, Porchfront Homes showcased Belgian culture with chocolate-drizzled waffles, pommes frites (or German-style french fries), and beer. The tapas available at Little Bird represented Greece, and the now-famous Danish pancake balls known as aebleskiver (which also were not deterred during Enchanted Evening due to cold weather) were available and popular outside of Few of a Kind Vintage + Mercantile.

The Emporium was especially popular this year with DRF Real Estate featuring two different live-bands for England alongside "afternoon tea and primms" (scones and finger sandwiches). The first band, Come Together, was a Beatles sing-along cover band which engaged a lively crowd in hit songs from the British band such as "Eight Days a Week" and "Here Comes the Sun" (which the rain did let up shortly thereafter). The tea and primms were made possible by the Luminous Tea company, which will also be present at Niwot's Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea Party on May 5, sponsored by the Women's International Niwot Club (WINC).

The Old Oak Coffeehouse was also particularly festive with their Austrian theme. Viennese music played along with some recognizable tunes from the classic "Sound of Music." Recipes for Edelweiss flower-shaped sugar cookies and Viennese coffee made for great party favors. Viennese coffee was served based on Old Oak employee Stephanie's creation after her visit to Austria.

Niwot Jewelry & Gifts served up German hot chocolate, beer and pretzel necklaces to snack on. Aiden Scarborough, owner Jan Kahl's grandson greeted each customer with a friendly smile and a cup of hot chocolate to stave off the cold rain.

Students from the St. Vrain Innovation Center, took pictures and shot video to document the community of Niwot. This was a part of their marketing project and will later be available to the community of Niwot.

Students Willow Cahill, Jose Cano, and Grace Kennedy were under the supervision of Ginger Sheehy Tatic as they gathered content throughout the town's event. Cahill's motivation for being involved in the project through the Innovation Center came from growing up with "both parents being professional photographers." Cahill added, "For me, it's a great way to be expressive in this type of art form." Cano will be attending CU Denver for film school with the ultimate goal of further study at UCLA.

While many events in Niwot do an incredible job of bringing the community together, this particular event has the added element of cultural representation, and shows that Niwot can come together as a community, not just in terms of our small town, but as the world.