Happy Friday, Boulder! 🎉 Any big weekend plans?
Maybe you’ll be checking out a few of the nearly 100 events in store for Boulder Arts Week, whose festivities kick off today. Or maybe you’ll get in some hiking at the newly reopened Antelope and Nelson Loop trails at Hall Ranch, or swing by the Oscar watch party on Sunday at Dairy Arts Center. We’ve got details on these and other ways to put together the perfect Boulder weekend below. 👇
Also in this morning’s edition of BRL Today, we’re bringing you a story on the youth-led Healing Day of Remembrance planned for April 2 at BMoCA. The interactive program of art-making and community-building, presented by local teens, is designed to help the community process grief after a year of tragedy.
Until Monday,
– Jezy, managing editor
Quickly
☀️ Warming trend continues: Expect highs in the mid-60s today, ticking up over the weekend and into Monday, when temps will climb near 75. Mostly sunny skies expected throughout.
🛍️ Macy’s no more: The deal by Boulder 29 LLC — a venture between Corum Real Estate Group and Fair Street Partners — to purchase the Macy’s building at the Twenty Ninth Street Shopping Center officially closed on Thursday. Boulder 29 plans to “convert the roughly 150,000-square-foot department store into a Class A creative office building that will become one of the last large blocks of contiguous space available in the city.” One large tenant is expected to lease it. Construction will begin in May.
💰 Boulder County Wildfire Fund update: Have questions about the Wildfire Fund that has raised more than $36 million so far for Marshall Fire victims? Community Foundation Boulder County CEO Tatiana Hernandez will provide an update on Monday, March 28, 6:30 p.m. Register here. In-person will be limited to 70 registrants. Submit questions here.
🚮 Debris removal meeting: Want to learn more about what to expect when crews begin removing material from property sites destroyed by the Marshall Fire? Owners participating in Boulder County’s coordinated debris removal program are invited to attend a virtual meeting on Tuesday, March 29, 6–8 p.m.
🏖️ Summer jobs for young people: Boulder County residents ages 14–17 are invited to apply for summer jobs with the Boulder County Youth Corps. Deadline is Thursday, March 31. The Town of Superior announced it is also hiring summer positions at local pools. So is the City of Boulder, which has 115 open jobs (not just seasonal).
🔥 Prescribed burn at Rabbit Mountain: The Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain will be closed today for a prescribed burn that began yesterday, weather permitting. More info here.
🥾 Happy hiking: The Antelope and Nelson Loop trails at Hall Ranch are open once again. Per BoCo Parks & Open Space: “Please travel through, not around, any remaining snow (soon to be slush).”
Top Story
‘How can you deal with those hard feelings?’: Youth-led day of healing helps Boulder residents work through big emotions after a tragic year
Nevaeh Patt moved with her family from Oregon to Boulder not long before the mass shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers that killed 10 people on March 22, 2021. Looking back on that day, the 14-year-old Boulder High student remembers feeling helpless in her new town.
“I was just starting to get to know people, actually. So it was very overwhelming,” she says. “And I felt very scared, because I’d been to that store so many times. That could have happened to me if I went there on that exact day. That’s probably what everybody felt.”
Those shared feelings of fear and anxiety are what Patt and her peers in the Youth Leadership Healing Committee (YLHC) hope to untangle during the upcoming Healing Day of Remembrance at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) on Saturday, April 2.
The youth-led event at the downtown gallery will feature interactive stations for art-making, conversation, journaling and more. The idea is to facilitate emotional wellness in the wake of collective trauma, according to Mara Mintzer, co-founder and executive director of Growing Up Boulder, a child- and youth-focused city initiative launched in a 2009 partnership between the University of Colorado, the City of Boulder and Boulder Valley School District.
“All the different senses will be incorporated into ways of teaching and allowing people to heal themselves and also create community connections,” she says. “This is what the young people have designed. We’ve put the support in place for them to be able to design it, but it’s completely their vision.”
Email: sponsorships@boulderreportinglab.org to learn more
BRL Picks (Arts Edition)
🎭 Boulder Arts Week is back. Festivities kick off today during the annual citywide culture blowout, featuring live music, visual art exhibitions, screenings, workshops and more. Check out the full calendar to see what’s going on this weekend, and be sure to consult our article highlighting five standout events in the ICYMI section at the bottom of this newsletter. 👇
🎞 Movie magic. Want to catch up on this year’s Oscar-nominated short films before the Academy Awards on Sunday? Dairy Arts Center is concluding its monthlong program with entries from the live-action short category today at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. The center’s silver-screen weekend wraps up with a members-only Oscar watch party on Sunday.
💃 Sashay for a cause. DV8 Distillery is hosting an evening of burlesque and drag performance tomorrow at 7 p.m. to support people affected by the Marshall Fire. All proceeds (including tips) will go to Out Boulder County’s Marshall Wildfire Direct Aid fund. Get your tickets here.
🎨 Community exhibition. Want to show and sell your artwork as part of this weekend’s Open Wall program at BMoCA? Drop by the arts center today between 4–6 p.m. with your priced, install-ready work. BMoCA will provide wall space, pedestals, hammers and nails. Space available first-come, first-served.
COVID Updates: March 25, 2022
- 60 daily new cases (7-day avg.) 🔺Up 12% over preceding 7-day avg.
- 0 patients hospitalized with Covid (7-day avg.) ⬇Down from avg. of 40 since July 2020.
- 58% percent of ICU is occupied. ⬇Down from avg. of 71% since July 2020.
What We’re Reading
📖 Stop sign bill passes both houses. A bill in the Colorado legislature would make it legal for people on bikes to roll through stop signs at empty intersections (sometimes called an “Idaho stop”). In addition to limiting the time cyclists spend at dangerous traffic points, some people of color say the law could help reduce unwanted interactions with police. [CPR News]
ICYMI from BRL
✍️ One year after the King Soopers shooting, why hasn’t Boulder passed new gun control measures? Boulder has yet to reinstate its ban on the possession, transfer or sale of assault-style weapons. One reason is because the city is seeking to work with other local governments across Boulder County — including Superior, Lafayette and unincorporated Boulder County — to pass a range of reforms at the same time.
🎨 5 can’t-miss events during Boulder Arts Week 2022. From blues legend Taj Mahal at Boulder Theater to NoBo Art District studio tours, Boulder Ballet Film Festival at Dairy Arts Center and more, here are just a few of the nearly 100 events coming to an arts space near you, March 25–April 2.
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