New local food funder launched
To encourage local food systems, Transition Colorado has announced the launch of Localization Partners LLC, a new for-profit company that will help fund local food and farming enterprises.
The new company is starting with $1.5 million in funding to catalyze scalable and replicable local food systems by developing the Boulder County “foodshed” as a model for improving local food economies.
The first investment of Localization Partners is LFS Enterprises LLC, a joint venture with Boulder-based recycOil — a company that repurposes used restaurant and food oils into biofuel — to establish a local food distribution hub, an online transaction platform where restaurant, retail and food-service buyers can connect with local producers. The system will be completed in early 2012, to be ready for next year’s growing season. At the same time, the organization is developing a brick-and-mortar side of the distribution system, with a distribution center and a small fleet of refrigerated delivery trucks.
LFS Enterprises will be officially unveiled at an investors briefing on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 5 p.m., at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder as part of EAT LOCAL! Week.
In a separate joint venture, Localization Partners is collaborating with Vancouver-based Foodtree to provide powerful online tools and processes for catalyzing local food sourcing for communities across North America. The first of these is the online “10% Local Food Shift Pledge” system being beta-tested in conjunction with the Boulder County Farmers’ Markets.
Consignment sale in Longmont
The Just Between Friends Children’s and Maternity Consignment Event is coming to Longmont Aug. 26-30 at the Boulder County Fairgrounds.
The event, which features items up to 90 percent off retail prices, will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hours on Monday, which is 25 percent day, are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the hours on Tuesday, which is 50 percent off day, are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is free, and there will be a petting zoo for the kids. The event features deals on baby equipment, clothing, shoes, accessories, movies, games, books, toys, room decor, bikes, outdoor toys and more. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/jbfsale.
Kinetics returns
The 32nd annual Kinetics will be held at Longmont’s Union Reservoir on Saturday, Aug. 27.
This year the zany, human-powered amphibious vehicle race features new crafts, a new race course, food, beverages, souvenirs, live bands and other entertainment.
Kinetic vehicles will strut their stuff at the Festival on Main in downtown Longmont from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26.
The race runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the reservoir, which is located at 0461 Weld County Road 26. Cannon fire will herald the start of the land/water competition at 10 a.m.
Car passes for the race are available in advance at the Festival on Main Street and at the Longmont Recreation Centers, or at the reservoir on the day of the event.
Advance passes are $8 per carload, $10 the day of the event. The charge is $2 per person if arriving on foot, bicycle, etc., and $20 per car for VIP parking.
For more information, see kineticists.org.
Hike for Educate!
Educate! will host its third annual “Hike for Africa: Joining Forces Across Continents” on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Green Mountain in Boulder.
Participants in Boulder and Kamapla, Uganda, will trek to the top of a peak, symbolizing the common goal of empowering the next generation of socially responsible leaders.
The money raised will support education programs in Africa and empower Educate!’s 1,400 students in Uganda to transform their communities.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the hike begins at 9:45 a.m. The hike from Flagstaff Mountain to Green Mountain and back is family-friendly, with a two-mile option or a challenging four-mile option.
The cost is $20, but free for kids 12 and under. Pre-registration is necessary at www.experienceeducate.org/hikeforafrica.
Socialize with fellow Colorado sup-porters, hear updates about Educate! students’ work in Uganda, and enjoy live music by Lost Angel Station. There will be coffee, snacks and refreshments, as well as face-painting and coloring for the kids. Dogs are welcome, but they must be leashed at all times.
Pool goes to the dogs
The LaMont Does Outdoor Pool is celebrating the “dog days of summer” by allowing patrons to bring their dogs to the pool on Labor Day.
It is the last day of the season for the pool, and only dogs (with a current rabies tag) will be allowed in the pool.
The event will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 5. The cost is $5 per dog. For more information, see www.cityoflafayette.com/recreation.
A doc in the house
Eldorado Canyon State Park will host the cowboy poetry and “west-clectic” music of “Doc” Mehl on Friday, Aug. 26, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the park’s visitor center.
Hailing from Westminster, Mehl traces his family roots to central Kansas, where his grandfather raised six children on the family homestead. He has two music CDs and has also published a CD of original poetry titled Cowboy Poetry. His new poetry CD, titled The Great Divide, is scheduled for release in 2011.
Mehl’s poems and musical lyrics have been featured on the website www.cowboypoetry.com. He has been published in the poetry journal Rattle, and he was a first-place silver buckle winner at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo in Montrose in 2009.
An $8 daily parks pass or annual parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park. The event is free, but donations for the performer are appreciated. For more information, call 303-494- 3943.
HOP, late transit resume schedule
With the start of the fall semester, the HOP bus line has resumed its regular school-year frequency. On Aug. 22, the HOP started circulating every seven to 10 minutes, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In addition, various nighttime bus options will be available beginning
today, Aug. 25. The Late Night Transit services will operate on the HOP’s regular route every 15 minutes, from 10 p.m. to midnight, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
After midnight on those nights, the Black, Brown, Gold and Silver Lines will continue to provide bus services every 10 minutes, until 3 a.m. (Those services use HOP buses but change their names at midnight to indicate the altered routes that they serve.)
For a map of the primary routes used by the four bus lines, visit GOBoulder.net and use the left-side menu to navigate to “BUS,” then “Routes,” then “Late Night Transit.” In an effort to provide safe alternative modes of transportation at night, passengers can request to be dropped off at a destination that is not on the designated route.
For real-time HOP bus arrival and departure information, visit NextBus.com. For more information on the HOP, visit GOBoulder.net.
Get kids ready to read
The Lafayette Public Library outreach program Lafayette Kids Ready to Read is accepting applications for volunteers to deliver children’s books and present story times at local preschools and daycare homes.
For three hours a month, volunteers can support parents and caregivers as they prepare their preschoolers to be successful readers in kindergarten.
All training is provided. Pick up an application at the library, or contact Susan Nagle at 303-665-5200 or susann@cityoflafayette.com.
A Boulder vet benefit
The American Legion Boulder Post 10 Auxiliary is organizing a sale of arts, crafts and secondhand treasure on Sept. 10 to benefit Boulder County veterans.
The sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the American Legion at 4760 N. 28th St. in Boulder.
Table fees are $5 for individuals who supply their own tables, $6 for a six-foot Legion table and $8 for an eight-foot Legion table.
Food will be sold at the event. For more information, contact Mary French at mfrench@aspeninformation.com or 303-381-8487.
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