July 4, 2009
Isn’t this summer flying by! It’s time once again to think about how we’ll celebrate our nation’s birthday. There are hardly any towns in Colorado that don’t have some sort of festivities for Independence Day 2009, so I’ll just give you a sampling of choices.

Arvada - Fourth of July Festival - car show, live music, amusements, food and  fireworks display.  Events begin at 3:00 PM at the Lutz/Stenger Sports Complex on W. 58 th Ave. at Oak St. just west of Kipling (parking lot opens at 2:00 pm).  Family-friendly events include:
· “Hot Times, Kool Cars” classic car show
· The KOOL Cats, 17th Avenue Allstars and the Aquasonics on stage
· A Kid’s Park, with bounce houses, caterpillar crawl, face painting, sports games
· Child identification DNA Kit
· Fire truck and emergency vehicle display

Boulder - Ralphie’s Independence Day Blast - University of Colorado Campus - Folsom Stadium
8:00 PM – Gates Open; Master of ceremonies and welcome; Skip-It’s jump rope team
8:30 PM – City Open Space & Mountain Parks sing-along
8:45 PM –  Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
9:15 PM – Boulder’s 150th Birthday Celebration
9:30 PM – Fireworks display

Estes Park - Pancake breakfast, car show, horse show and fireworks - 800-44-ESTES

Frazer - 4th of July Celebration & Run for Independence - Fireworks, rodeo, live music, 5-mile Run for Independence, barbecue, carnival games, pancake breakfast and more.  Fraser Sports Complex -  800-903-7275

Golden - Golden Lions July 4th Community Festival @ Lions Park, 10th and Maple St. Food, beverages, entertainment, live bands, fireworks show around 9:30 PM. The Golden Lions Club is giving back to the community again this year with FREE RIDES for all the kids, including a trackless train ride.  www.GoldenLionsClub.org

Granby - Agate Ave., Main Street
10:30 AM  - Biggest Small Town Parade in Colorado
11:30 AM –  BBQ
7:00 PM – BBQ
800-552-6557

Highlands Ranch - Enjoy an old fashioned Fourth of July at the Highlands Ranch Community Association’s celebration at the Town Center, 9288 Dorchester Street, from 8:30 AM – 9:00 PM. Independence Day 5K Run/Walk and the July 4th Parade. Live music, rides for the kids, a hot dog eating contest, food and merchandise vendors, and fireworks after dark.  303-791-2500

Niwot - 4th of July Parade Marches On - The parade starts at 11 AM. It will be preceded by a pancake breakfast at the Niwot Market in Cottonwood Square

Ouray - Parades, kids’ games, fireworks and more - Main Street -  970-325-4746

Salida - Historic downtown Salida has a daytime parade, food, fun and nighttime fireworks extravaganza, all in Riverside Park (F Street).   719-539-2068

Steamboat Springs – Cowboy’s Roundup Days & 4th of July Celebration - downtown parade, fireworks, cattle drive through town and rodeos.  7/3 through 7/5/2009.   877-754-2269

In the “every little bit helps” department, all National Park Service sites that charge entry fees will waive them for the weekends of:

June 20 and 21 (Happy Father’s Day!),
July 18 and 19, and
August 15 and 16, 2009.

Here in Colorado, these free admission weekends will apply to:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Colorado National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Great Sand Dunes NP & Preserve
Hovenweep National Monument
Mesa Verde National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park

See you on the trails!

June 3, 2009
10 AM – 4 PM
Rite Aid (4800 Baseline Rd, Boulder )

June 4, 2009
10 AM – 4 PM
Rite Aid (20901 E. Smoky Hill Rd, Aurora)

June 6, 2009
Noon – 2 PM
Rite Aid (7677 W. Jewell Ave, Lakewood)

June 7, 2009
10 AM – 1 PM
Cherry Knolls Shopping Center (6780 S. University Blvd, Littleton)

OK now — listen up!  I know this isn’t one of those fun or offbeat things we sometimes write about, but it’s important, especially with our high elevation and sunny climate.

The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Road to Healthy Skin Tour presented by AVEENO® and Rite Aid will be stopping by Boulder, Aurora, Lakewood, and Littleton in the Tour’s 38-foot customized RV to offer free full body skin cancer screenings to the public.  Local board-certified dermatologists are donating their time to offer the free screenings.

As if that isn’t enough to make it worth your while, AVEENO® will also be distributing free samples of its NEW POSITIVELY AGELESS™ Sunblock Lotion SPF 70 for Face as well as its line of CONTINUOUS PROTECTION™ suncare products, specifically created to deliver optimal, broad and photostable UVA/UVB protection with proper use.

Take care when you go out in the sun to play in our beautiful state.  Remember:  a “healthy tan” is an oxymoron.

May 25, 2009
Bolder Boulder 10K (Boulder)

May 31, 2009
The Road to Victory Bicycle Race (Boulder)

June 5 – 7, 2009
Teva Mountain Games (Vail)

No, that headline didn’t say “Bare Naked Tour.”
These are family events, so don’t get so worked up.

If you don’t already know, Bear Naked is a line of yummy granola and yogurt snacks.  A spokesperson assured me that no Bears were harmed in the making of these products.  You can enjoy some free samples of Bear Naked’s all-natural granola and granola yogurt parfaits at each of these events, plus others scheduled in Colorado this summer.  For a complete list that is updated often to include new events, visit blog.bearnaked.com.

Bear Naked tour ambassadors will be on hand at the Bear Naked branded tents at these events to discuss different aspects of nutrition and how to fuel your body with healthy snacks.

At the Teva games, Bear Naked will also set up the Bear Naked Adventure Village, an interactive, family-friendly area where everyone can experience the excitement of the Games by jumping in a kay tank, scaling a pop-up climbing wall or partaking in many other sports showcased at the Games.

Please:  no streaking.  Bare Naked visitors to the Bear Naked tent will not be served free samples.

Saturday, May 2, 2009
8 AM to 3 PM 

Chipeta was the wife of Chief Ouray, and played an important role along with Ouray in negotiating treaties between the Utes and other Western tribes with the United States.  Both traveled to Washington DC in a diplomatic role.

Special events will be going on all day in and around the Ute Indian Museum to honor the memory of Chipeta.

8 AM – blessing at Chipeta & Chief John McCook gravesite

9 AM – “Walk to Remember” from Holly Park to the museum (3 miles)

11 AM – Program on the sweat lodge by Jim Brafford, Lakota Sioux

1 PM – Film: “Ute Bear Dance” (Southern Ute Tribe) with Q&A moderated by Roland McCook (Uncompahgre Ute)

2 PM – Film: “Sun Calendars of the Ancient Puebloans” – rock art and ancient pueblos in the vicinity of Mancos Canyon

In addition, there will be an art show, book signing of “Searching for Chipeta”, plus a silent auction, Indian vendors, beaded bracelet-making for children, flute playing, and fry bread available for purchase.   Call the museum at (970) 249-3098 for more details.

photo credit:

First People of America and Canada : Chief Ouray and Chipeta

Child friendly site about American and Canadian Indians. 1400+ legends, 400+ agreements and treaties, 10,000+ pictures, free clipart, Pueblo pottery, American Indian jewelry, Native American Flutes and more.

In case you haven’t been checking our event calendar lately, there are a few interesting and unique new items that may interest you!

Titanic: Treasures from the Deep (Broomfield and Lone Pine) is a new mobile tour featuring authentic artifacts recovered from Titanic and the personal stories as told through those treasures.

April 23 – 26 in Broomfield
April 30 – May 3 in Lone Pine 

Best in Show (Denver)
Take a bunch of sleek, cute plastic dog figures (Eero Aarnio Puppies), combine with a bunch of creative, artistic folks, and the results can be amazing (and fun)!  Just take a look at last year’s entries.  Free admission to the showing and auction (no, you don’t have to bid), including free refreshments from area restaurants.

April 24 starting at 7:00 PM

For more information on these and other free events, please check our Calendar.

April 4, 2009
10 AM – 4 PM
Robby Ferrufino Park, 74th Ave. & Carr Dr. in Arvada

I’ve never managed to get a kite off the ground for more than 2 seconds, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy watching kites soaring in the skies as much as the next person!  Whether you are an expert with kites or a total klutz like me, the Arvada Kite Festival (“Taking us wherever the wind blows!” — I love that!) will likely take your breath away with its celebration of National Kite Month.

Stay all day for prize drawings and special activities including:

* Posting of the Colors – Boy Scout Troup #167 at 10:00 AM
* Brass Band from Noon to 1:00 PM
* Bernard & Sullivan Art Adventure for children
* Kite contests at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM - Trophies awarded!
* Foothills Kite Club flying demonstrations
* Two jumping castles
* Face painting
* Balloon animals
* Caricaturist and portrait artists

Oh, and did you know:

* The exact date and origin of the kite is not known but it is believed that they were flown in China more than two thousand years ago.

* A kite was used to lay the first line across the gorge and make a bridge across the Niagara River possible

* Years of kite flying directly led the Wright Brothers to the invention of the airplane

Tuesday evenings,
February 3 through March 3, 2009
Denver Central Library – 10 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy
6 PM – 9 PM

I loved every movie I ever saw with Paul Newman.  OK, I admit it, I loved Paul Newman (those blue eyes!!!).  So, I’m in 7th heaven over this free film series at the downtown Library.

The Hustler, Sweet Bird of Youth, Hud, Cool Hand Luke (”What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”), and The Hudsucker Proxy make up the weekly schedule.  

It’s an interesting mixture of 4 flicks from the 1960s, plus one from The Coen brothers made in 1994 that has a very different tone.

But they’re all good, ’cause they’re Newman’s Own!

The complete schedule can be found here.

(I sure do miss him)