There was a great turnout on October 11 for the potluck to celebrate
the purchase of the gallery! The place was packed with 50 people, the
food table was loaded down, and the old building was filled with a
festive air. Most of the people, who ranged in age from 18 months to
87, were from Allenspark, but some came from Estes Park, Lyons, and
Longmont/Ward. The band, the Swamp Koolers from Jamestown, played a great combination of bluegrass and mountain boogie, and had us breaking down a couple of tables after dinner to make room for the folks who wanted to dance. The silent auction featured some beautiful
works of painting, photography, jewelry, fabric art, glassblowing,
ceramics, and crafts, and brought in $1,400 for the center! Comments
included “It’s like something from Northern Exposure”, and “We should do this every month”.
Just click on the album labeled “Allenspark community center”.
We’d like to offer a big thank-you to all who came, who told friends
about it, who brought food and drink, who helped spruce up and
decorate the building, who hosted tables and coordinated the hosting,
who donated art, who participated in the auction, who ordered items
from the Rocky Mountain Nature Association display, and who suggested and voted on names for the building. You narrowed it down to a few finalists—more on that soon!
We also thank the Hilltop Guild for donating 11 no-longer-needed
tables to the center!
A brief update on the status of the project:
–We are assembling our package for Special Use Review by Boulder
County Land Use, to cover the multiple uses we anticipate for the
building.
–We had an energy audit last weekend, and have some good suggestions
on making the place more energy efficient (and possibly for getting
some help with it).
–CDOT has given verbal approval to a plan for a small front parking
lot with an entry and an exit (there will be 8 additional spaces
between the two buildings on the west side.)
–A meeting was held on October 14 to make plans for using the center
as a drop-off point for food orders from Local Roots Coop in Estes
Park and Door-to-Door Organics. (More on this in the November Wind issue).
–A grant application was filed on October 9 with the Boulder County
Arts Alliance to support a workshop next June to introduce the type of
art classes that will be offered.
–Architect Joy Spatz has made recommendations on dealing with some
drainage and moisture issues, and architect Kay Cody is working on
plans for moving into the renovations phase (that’s right, more
FUNdraising…)
Make plans to attend the Halloween party, October 31, 4:00-7:00, with
games, haunted house, costume fun, a chili cook-off, and
trick-or-treating!
Thanks to all our great neighbors
and all supporters of the greater Allenspark community…
Margie, Stith, Janet, Ben, Glenn, Bill, and Robert–the interim board
