Downtown Partnership May 2010 Newsletter

Peak Vista Community Health Centers has opened its Senior Health Center in a new-yet historic-location at 722 S. Wahsatch in the Lowell neighborhood. That address was where the community health service first started out in 1971. This center, however, is brand spanking new!

The 14,000 square foot facility is staffed by geriatric-trained physicians and providers. There are many nearby ancillary services, including laboratory, pharmacy and health education. Classes will be available for diabetes management, cholesterol control and heart-healthy habits.

For a small or no co-payment, depending on insurance, the Senior Health Center will coordinate personal providers for primary care and referrals to community specialists. The Senior Health Center accepts all patients with Medicare, all Medicare Supplements (including TriCare for Life and AARP), Medicaid, CICP and PacifiCare Secure Horizons.

Hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call (719) 632-5700 to register as a patient and/or make an appointment.

Peak Vista served 54,321 patients in 2009 and provided more than $14 million in charity care in 16 outpatient centers. To learn more, visit www.peakvista.org.

Keep it beautiful

Volunteer flower-planters needed

Love the splash of color Downtown every summer? Help ensure it by volunteering to plant flowers in the Business Improvement District this spring.

Meet BID Manager Beth Ortiz and her crew at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 19^th at the northwest corner of Pikes Peak and Tejon. Bring your own trowel and work gloves.

If you plan to volunteer that day, please RSVP to Terri at (719) 886-0088.

Shop for it

Farmer's Market comes to Acacia Park

At last! A Farmer's Market returns to Acacia Park on June 7 and repeats every Monday through October 14. Miller Farms out of Platteville, CO will supply the 40 different pesticide-free types of produce, including 10 varieties of chiles as well as tomatoes, squash, Art for Land Sake 1 greens and herbs. There will also be bedding plants of various herbs and perennials. Click here to see what items are generally available when.

Other vendors will also set up. Be sure to check out fresh bread from La Baguette, artisan cheeses, or grab a barbecue sandwich and some kettle corn. Get out of the office, purchase your weekly produce, and enjoy the park and occasional live music. Watch the kids play around Uncle Wilber-and maybe even dip your toes in, too. The Acacia Park Farmers Market will operate from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or sell-out.

As streetside parking is busy during the summer season, we recommend the Bijou-Cascade parking garage.

Sustainable Community

AIA Smart Growth Charrette

AIA Colorado South invites the professional design community and the public to a two-and-a-half day charrette June 3-5 at Colorado College's McHugh Commons.

The goal is to draft an initial Smart-Growth Sustainability Plan for the Pikes Peak Region. Building on the energy and knowledge of past events and hearing from many groups actively engaged in putting sustainability into practice, a shared understanding and common vision of smart growth may emerge that is regional, comprehensive and transformational.

The program will include discussion in the areas of planning, transportation, infrastructure, utilities, economic development, public agencies and neighborhood organizations, and seeks the following outcomes:

1. The creation of a graphically-compelling alternative community vision that defines what smart-growth means to the community, in terms of economic growth within the framework of existing infrastructure, new transportation possibilities and reduced energy requirements.

2. The emergence of key stakeholder groups that can continue beyond the charrette as part of other ongoing initiatives and implementation strategies.

3. The identification of a process by which a jurisdictional regional sustainability plan can be further developed and ultimately adopted.

For more information, contact AIA Colorado South at 303.446.2266.

Go with the flow

Flow of Mexico opens

Longtime FedEx driver Horacio Flores has traded in his truck keys for a journey as restaurateur. Flores recently opened Flow of Mexico at 16 E. Bijou. Utilizing family recipes, Flores is offering his tasty version of authentic Mexican cuisine. Breakfast, lunch and dinner items are served. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Follow on Facebook to catch daily specials, write a review, and more.

Funds for fountains

Make a splash with cash

Downtown's two most-loved fountains need your help. The Continuum-Julie Penrose Fountain in America the Beautiful Park and crazy old Uncle Wilber in Acacia Park will need your cash to be kept on this summer.

If all goes well, Julie Penrose Fountain will open May 23. Art for Land Sake 1 Supporters say they're close to raising that amount, but more is still needed. El Pomar Foundation will match those funds dollar for dollar. To learn more and make a donation, visit

www.juliepenrosefountain.org.

Uncle Wilber supporters are hoping to raise $9,000 by May 31. Those funds will be also be matched, by Smokebrush Foundation and the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado. To learn more and make a donation, visit www.smokebrush.org.

Can you guess?

Downtown Puzzler

Puzzler Picture May 2010

Oh, she's a smooth one, isn't she? And the brunette behind the wheel-equally so. What fun and mischief will they find Downtown? And where will you find them?

Make a feast of it

Restaurants expand hours

Looking for more Downtown breakfast options? Rico's, 322 N. Tejon, now begins serving breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Bistro de Pinto, 26 E. Kiowa, now offers breakfast Monday through Friday, 7 to 10 a.m.

The Thirsty Parrot, 32 S. Tejon, now serves both lunch and dinner.

Brand it

Pike Peak Western Heritage Days

Colorado Springsand the Pikes Peak region have rustled up an entire summer's worth of family fun and branded it Pikes Peak Western Heritage Days.This summer, May through August, residents and visitors can saddle up and celebrate the cowboy, gold mining, geological and American Indian heritage of this unique western region.

Keep attuned to events at http://www.visitcos.com/western.

Pikes Peak Western Heritage Days is a culmination of community partners working together to showcase Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region as a true western heritage destination. These partners include: Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, City of Colorado Springs,El Paso County Fair, Pikes Peak Country Attractions Association, Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, COPPeR, Downtown Partnership, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, Flying W Ranch, Norris-Penrose Event Center, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo& Foundation, Western Museum of Mining and Industry, Pikes Peak Library District, Western Horseman Magazine, Western Heritage Group, Pikes Peak Range Riders, Western Jubilee Recording Co., Starsmore Discovery Center and ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

For more information, contact Chelsy Murphy, Convention & Visitors Bureau PR Manager at (719) 685-7639.

Classic Theater

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Join George and Martha for an evening of cocktails with a nasty twist, but don't expect to escape unscathed; one of their favorite games is "Get the Guests." The Pulitzer advisory committee declined to give the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1963 rather than award it to this vicious, volatile powerhouse of a piece, now widely considered to be one of the most important plays in the American theatre.

Now's your chance to see it on the local stage, when Star Bar Players present Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?May 13-30, Lon Chaney Theater, 221 E. Kiowa (inside the City Auditorium). Show times are Thursdays, 7 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. No Saturday performances. Tickets are $15; $12 for seniors. For more information, email tickets@starbarplayers.org.

Puzzled no more

We've got answers

The "lady in the Porsche" was a serendipitous construction. The folks at Nor'wood Development Group thought it would be fun to get some art up on the Alamo Annex building, 102 S. Tejon Street. Then, in a stroke of luck, a friend of Fred Veitch's alerted him to a wrecked Porsche near Fort Collins.

Veitch acquired what was left of the vehicle; a local sports car repair shop added missing parts and fixed her up-so much so that her lights come on automatically at night, too. An engineer designed the bracing system to hang her. Title Nine apparel was fitted onto the stylish mannequin offered by one of Nor'wood's retailers.

Catch her if you can!

Plan for it

Down the road

The following events, while not occurring in the heart of Downtown, could nonetheless impact our district retailers and restaurants. Keep these dates in mind!

July 23-24 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, Prospect Lake

For more information, including daily schedules, tickets, TV air dates, photos, videos, athlete bios, results, standings and more, visit www.allisports.com.

August 29 Assault on the Peak, cycling event on Pikes Peak

For more information on the 2010 Assault on the Peak, visit www.ridepikespeak.com.

Mark your calendar

Events

MAY

28 Last Friday Open House, Cottonwood Center

for the Arts, 5-8:30 pm

520-1899, www.cottonwoodcenterforthearts.com

JUNE

7,14,21,28 Farmer's Market, Acacia Park, 10 am to 3pm

886-0088 for info

10 Bike to Work Day, Breakfast, Corporate