No whining heard at Let's Wine About Winter

Niwot Cultural Arts Association's Let's Wine About Winter event celebrated its eighth successful year this past Saturday, Feb. 8, from 1 - 5 p.m. in Cottonwood Square and old town Niwot's business district.

The event invited locals and visitors to explore the unique shops and restaurants of Cottonwood Square and Second Avenue while they enjoyed tasting a variety of wine, beer, and other culinary offerings. Everyone was able to gather, share good conversation, and enjoy the welcoming atmosphere of Niwot.

"It really was a wonderful event with a great turnout," said Kristin Alger, Co-Chair of the event. "The weather started out a little cloudy and chilly that morning, but almost as soon as the event started, the sun came out and it warmed up nicely."

Alger estimates there were about 450 people in attendance. She said, "When I looked at the places that people came from that registered online, I saw people from as far south as Littleton and Pueblo and as far north as Fort Collins. It was great to see people coming in from outside of Niwot."

Bruce Warren of Warren, Carlson & Moore, Attorneys, echoed Alger's comments. "We had people from Aurora to Greeley, and everywhere in between," Warren said. "Some of them were relatively new to Niwot, while others used the occasion to meet up with out-of-town friends."

Thirty-three businesses participated in the event this year. Alger said, "We are always trying to get more businesses to participate. It's a great way for businesses to get people into their location that might not know anything about it or have never been there before. It is not necessarily just restaurants or food places so everyone can find a way to be involved."

Alger explained that she and her Co-Chair, Anne Postle, started planning for this event months in advance. She said, "We start sometime around November with sending emails out to businesses to see if they want to participate. Normally, around December we start asking for volunteers and we work with the Niwot Community Connection to fill roles."

She continued, "It is very community oriented. Pretty much every event that goes on in Niwot is put on by volunteers. This particular event took four volunteers to put together the bags the Monday before and then we needed eight volunteers split between the two check-in locations on the actual day. A lot of people have said this is one of the favorite events of the year and we are really excited to put this on again next year."

Sarah Cioni of Belle Terre Floral and Linda Vehrenkamp of The Nook both agreed with Alger that the event is one of their favorites. "I think this brings more people in than Enchanted Evening," Cioni said. Both merchants, who have commercial businesses inside Niwot Market, felt it was one of the best turnouts they had seen.