Roll and rock it 

People's Pedal Party August 21

We're throwing a party to celebrate the USA Pro Cycling Challenge!

Starting with a thrilling, timed Prologue event in Colorado Springs, the eyes of the cycling world will soon be tuned to Colorado.  While there are lots of events for the racers, sponsors and other biking enthusiasts, ours is for the people of our community who are proud to be hosting, volunteering and watching this world-class event.

Join us Downtown August 21, 4 to 8 p.m. for a celebration that includes live music by Grass it Up at 5:30 p.m. and by Hazel Miller at 6:30 p.m.  

Enjoy the festival of vendors, bike art, fencing demonstrations, children's tennis, a BMX show, bike valet and more.  The Party will take place on Tejon St., between Kiowa and Colorado, with the band stage on Pikes Peak Avenue.

Before then, visit Downtown Colorado Springs on Facebook and enter to win cool prizes and special Downtown deals.  And for more information about the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, which features 16 international teams and 128 riders competing in 11 Colorado cities over 600 miles, visit the following links.

Pikes Peak Cycling Society

USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Greening Downtown 

12,000 pounds recycled first quarter

Six TONS of waste Downtown never made it to the landfill during the first three months of a new streetside recycling initiative.

Operated and managed by Greener Corners, a national environmental organization working with businesses organizations and educational institutions, Downtown's new program features 60 easily accessed collection bins throughout the district.  Greener Corners has partnered with the City to get the program up and running.

There are no costs to the city or taxpayers.  Greener Corners provides the bins, is responsible for cleaning, maintaining and repairing them (including 24-hour emergency response service) and coordinates with local haulers for pick up.  Sponsorships of each bin provide revenue to the city.  Each bin has space for advertising, and also features separate openings for different recyclables.  Clearly marked labels distinguish acceptable materials.

One innovative educational feature is a scannable QR code on the "Recyclables" label.  Any smart phone can scan the code, which immediately directs the user to a web page showing what can be recycled in the local community.  Greener Corners offers other free mobile applications to help individuals track their personal efforts and convert them into wider benefits such as number of trees saved, etc.

"I'm pleased to see the progress we've made," said Julie Smith, City Communications Specialist.  "The custom designed bins look great with existing streetscape.  This is a very positive partnership."

"The public recycling program has exceeded our expectation, both in changing the way our community thinks about recycling and by providing enough bins to make it easy for people to do it, " said Greener Corners's Aaron Klein.

The organization has set up a local office in the Alamo building at 102 S. Tejon Street.  Madeleine Mellini is Project Manager, linking the project and forging collaborations with numerous organizations and businesses, including Boy Scouts, Pikes Peak Sustainability Business Network, the Chamber of Commerce and Greener Cities Coalition.  If you'd like to get more involved, contact Mellini at

(719) 578-3333.

According to Klein, sponsorship of a bin costs about 20 percent of most other forms of media purchase.  And to make it even more attractive, he's keen on offering Downtown Partnership Members and friends substantial discounts.  Klein says existing advertisers report that their promotions have not only aided brand awareness, but also increased their organizations' credibility and trustworthiness.  For more information about sponsoring Downtown recycling bins, contact Klein at 1-888-look4gc  (1-888-566-5442).

For recycling information and quarterly reports, visit

Greener Corners

For City information visit

Springs Gov

Downtown neighborhoods

Old North End in pictures and print

You've enjoyed a lovely dinner Downtown, dusk hasn't yet settled, and it's a comfortably warm summer evening.  What's next?  We suggest skipping dessert and taking a stroll through the Old North End Neighborhood, rich in history, architectural detail and lush landscaping.  If you live there, you get it.  If you don't, a fabulous new resource is an easy purchase away. 

Exploring the Old North End of Colorado Springs -

by Jennifer Wendler and Robert D. Loevy has recently been published. Highlighting some of the Old North End's most prominent and influential residents, the book contains more than 200 archival and contemporary photographs and provides six walking tours featuring 136 homes and their historic owners.

Okay, so you may have to go stroll several times. Early mornings are just as pleasant!

Lovell is an architectural historian and historic preservation consultant. Loevy is a noted author and professor at Colorado College. Both live in the neighborhood. Their book can be purchased at local retailers, including Poor Richard's Bookstore, Clausen Books and Terra Verde. It can also be purchased online at www.oldnorthend.org.

Can you guess?

Downtown Puzzler

I spy a gloved, gripping hand and a forearm beaded in sweat. Have you spied them, too? Who do they belong to and where might you find them? Get clued in later in this newsletter!

Fresh, fun, fabulous

Acacia Park Farmers Market

What? You haven't gone yet?  

Lucky for you, some of the best is yet to come...to the Acacia Park Farmers Market, that is. Just imagine the best supper salad ever after a tough Monday back in the office! And then sensational rest-of-the-week menus as well.

The Acacia Park Farmers Market runs every Monday, starting at 10 a.m. and until sell-out or 3 p.m. Miller Farms is the primary produce supplier, but there's lots of gourmet specialty vendors on hand, too. The Market runs until October 10, 2011 and as any good Coloradoan knows, some of our best produce arrives in August and later!

Now, at the height of the growing season, shoppers can expect to find a wide assortment of fresh produce including sweet corn, tomatoes, a variety of squash, Palisade peaches, honey, baked goods, fresh Tamales, and assorted flavored olive oils, vinegars, fresh herbs, grass fed beef and buffalo, and an assortment of crafts. Most Monday markets feature live music between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., too. On September 12 there will be an arts themed event at the market with local art galleries, including Cottonwood Center for the Arts and others.

For a chart of what produce is typically best and available when, visit http://www.millerfarms.net/what-we-grow.

Then grab your list and head on over. See you on Monday! 

Lucky for you, some of the best is yet to come...

A checkered life

Historic treasure in new hands

Depending on your generation, you may recall it as a) a congregant b) a diner or c) a clubber. This Downtown beauty on Pikes Peak between Nevada and Weber, just east of the post office, has yet another new owner. And this one takes it back to its roots.

Legend has it that this was once a church attended by city founder General William Jackson Palmer. Some of us remember it as a Village Inn restaurant in the 1980s. More recently, it was the SYN nightclub. Now the building has been purchased by St. George Anglican Church. In their good hands, it may yet again enjoy a good life.