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Bluegrass, Food, and Games -- Oh My! It's 4th of July!
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The Bluegrass Patriots, games, historical characters, and a food truck add up to an Old-Fashioned Fourth of July at the Avery House.
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The Old-Fashioned Fourth of July at the Avery House is just days away. Join the fun on the Avery House lawn--admission and the activities are free! Listen to the Bluegrass Patriots, let the kids play old-fashioned games such as bean bag toss and lawn bowling, mingle with historical characters, and get creative with Victorian crafts. Fort Collins' newest food truck, Mac'N, will be onsite selling delicious twists on mac 'n' cheese as well as hot dogs and other family fare. Popcorn, lemonade, and small trinkets will be for sale from $0.25-$1. The festivities run 10:00-2:00 at the Avery House, 328 W. Mountain Ave. in Fort Collins. Take in the City of Fort Collins July 4th parade on Mountain Avenue and stop at the Avery House for some old-fashioned fun!
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July 4, 1890: A Rude Awakening for Avery Neighbors
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| | Ethel, Louise ("Mettie"), and Edgar Avery, c. 1887. Courtesy Fort Collins Local History Archive. |
Young Edgar Avery's diary entry describes Independence Day fun in 1890: "Ethel Mettie and I got up at half past five oclock this morning. We fired a great big fire cracker first thing. I had five bunches of fire crackers. Ethel had five bunches and Mettie had three bunches...."
Can't you just picture the neighbors startling awake at sunrise on that long-ago summer morning as the Avery siblings set about celebrating our nation's birthday?
Edgar's diary, in which he wrote daily for all of 1890, is a delightful glimpse into what life was like not only at the Avery House but in Fort Collins itself at the turn of the 19th century. The diary was transcribed by a steadfast Avery House volunteer in 1990, complete with 12-year-old Edgar's charming spelling and grammatical errors. Copies are for sale for $6.25 at the Avery House.
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Tickets on Sale Now for the 31st Historic Homes Tour
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When September arrives, you know you'll be thinking of the annual Historic
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One of the houses on the 2015 Historic Homes Tour. Photo courtesy Joel Rutstein.
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Homes Tour, happening Saturday, September 12, 10:00-4:00. This late-summer event opens 7 private residences and 2 historic city-owned properties to tour guests. This year's tour includes 3 homes built before World War II, 2 homes representing postwar housing before approximately 1960, 1 early-20th-century country club repurposed as a residence, 1 early-20th-century farmhouse with unique collectibles from early Fort Collins history, and the city-owned 1879 Avery House and 1883 Water Works.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on tour day, with tickets available for purchase at each tour stop on tour day. Advance tickets will be available beginning August 12 at several local stores, or ensure your spot by buying online now:
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Scout Creates Water Works Tour for Smartphones
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| Chris Ray, a member of Boy Scout Troop 96
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| | A signpost holds one of the interactive-tour placards at the 1883 Water Works. |
in Fort Collins. |
A love of the past unites PLF supporters, but that doesn't mean we don't embrace current technology and carry smartphones. Now, thanks to an ingenious young Boy Scout, you can use your smartphone to enhance your next tour of the 1883 Water Works. The Water Works, located at 2005 N. Overland Trail in Fort Collins, is open for free tours on the second Saturday of May-October, 10:00-3:00. We have four tour dates left in 2015: July 11, August 8, September 12, and October 10.
How can you use your smartphone at the 1883 Water Works? Local Scout Chris Ray has created signs and mounted them at points of interest throughout the Water Works property. Each sign has a QR code that you can scan using a free app on your smartphone. Scan the code, and you're taken to a page at poudrelandmarks.org containing detailed information about the point of interest.
Chris, a member of Boy Scout Troop 96 in Fort Collins, first visited the Water Works during an open house in summer
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Scan this QR code with your smartphone or tablet to go to the first page of the interactive Water Works tour.
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2014 and realized that it would be an interesting place to perform volunteer service work. He started attending Friends of the Water Works meetings in November and worked with its members to identify an appropriate Eagle Scout Service Project. As part of his project, he compiled information to be posted on the poudrelandmarks.org website and made the informative signs, complete with the QR-code links to the website. With his volunteers, he also graveled two entranceways, cleaned out the historic chicken coop, cleared debris, and installed the signs with the aim of improving the outdoor tour experience during Water Works open houses.
Poudre Landmarks Foundation extends a big thank you to Chris for a job well done! Tour goers will benefit from his hard work for years to come.
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Poudre Landmarks Foundation Board of Directors
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Thom Tisthammer, President | Jennifer Kutzik, Secretary | Nancy DuTeau, Treasurer | Tom Boardman | Carol Brescher | Cheryl Donaldson | Doug Ernest | Norm Evans | Lynda Lloyd | Kimberly Miller | Pat Nelson | Jacques Rieux | Robin Stitzel | Alexandra Wallace | William Whitley
Staff
Jennifer Beccard, Exec. Director | Linda Harty, Admin. Assistant
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108 N Meldrum St
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970-221-0533
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