The people have chosen...2009 Boulder County Gold Awards

What the Golden Globes are to the entertainment industry, the Boulder County Gold Awards are to Boulder. Right? Right! This year, 24 businesses within Downtown Boulder made the list (in 28 categories). The Pearl Street Mall also received accolades as the Best Shopping Destination (within Colorado) as well as the Best Place to Entertain Kids.

From shopping and dining to entertainment of all kinds, top notch, one-of-a-kind options abound in Downtown Boulder. Congratulations to all those voted "golden" and thank you to everyone who voted...

Best Liquor Store: Liquor Mart

Best Gift Shop: Paper Doll

Best Housewares & Kitchen Goods: Peppercorn

Best Home Furnishings: HW Home

Best Bookstore: Boulder Book Store

Best Shoe Store: Pedestrian Shops

Best Antique Jewelry: Classic Facets

Best Art Gallery: Art & Soul

Best Place to Hear Live Music: Boulder Theater

Best Dessert: Cheesecake Factory

Best Dry Cleaner/Laundromat: Art Cleaners

Best Late Night Restaurant: The Kitchen

Best American Restaurant: The Kitchen

Best New Restaurant: Happy Noodle

Best Sushi: Hapa Sushi

Best Restaurant Service: Frasca Food & Wine

Best Brunch: Lucile's Creole Cafe

Best Breakfast: Lucile's Creole Cafe

Best Seafood: Jax Fish House

Best Vegetarian Restaurant: Leaf Vegetarian

Best Deli: Salvaggio's

Best Appetizers: Mediterranean (The Med)

Best Happy Hour: Mediterranean (The Med)

Best Outdoor Dining: Mediterranean (The Med)

Best BBQ: The Rib House

Best Travel Agency: James TravelPoints

- Terri Takata-Smith

Lights...Camera...Don't Mess Up: The Shoot Out Boulder

The Boulder Shoot Out is back in town this weekend for some hot, fast-paced film-making action in this one of a kind festival. In a nutshell, the crazies that volunteer for this contest have 24 hours to shoot a seven minute video to showcase their film-making talent and speedy sense of work. But there’s a catch: to put the participant’s creativity to the test (because just plain film-making doesn’t cut it these days I guess) all videos must include 11 items to be announced just before the 24 hour count down. One of these items must be shown within the first 30 seconds and any five must be filmed in one location. And if that weren’t enough, all videos must be edited in-camera, meaning the film must be shot in sequence and presented as completely raw footage.

Now, if you’re artistically challenged like myself, there are great ways to experience The 24 hour Shoot Out Film Festival without ever touching a camera. The ten best videos will be presented at the Boulder Theater this Sunday at 1 p.m. Click here for tickets. Or, if you’d like to be a little more involved, head down to the courthouse today at 4 p.m. with a head shot and cell phone to be a “Shooting Star” and help the filmmakers complete their masterpieces.

The contest kicks off today in Downtown Boulder outside the courthouse at 6 p.m. (be there at 4 if you want to sign up as a shooting star or filmmaker). The Shoot Out Boulder will test the determination, imagination and ability to pull an all-nighter (thank you college!) in this fast-paced, muddle of a contest. Don’t miss the 6th annual Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival Boulder this weekend only!

-Claire Little

Football and Beer: Fall is Here!

Happy Autumn! The leaves are turning those lovely shades of mud, old banana and faded traffic cone, ski bums and snobros/bunnies everywhere are jittery with the anticipation of shredding the gnar and scarves will no longer leave you in a puddle on the bricks. Here at Downtown Boulder we are ringing in the new season with my personal favorite Fall pastime, football and beer.

If you can’t get enough of CU Football, join Dan Hawkins at Boulder Draft House for a live recording of the Dan Hawkins Radio Show with Dan himself, Mark Johnson and Larry Zimmer for football chat. Next show is Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. When we play Kansas for our next home game on October 17, be sure to “Catch the Ride” from West End Tavern to the stadium in Banjo Billy’s Bus. Click here to see the schedule.

Don’t have season tickets to see the Buffs? Don’t worry! You are guaranteed to find a flat screen showing the game at Boulder Draft House or Lazy Dog (or any other bar with a TV for that matter).

Not a fan of CU football (despite our stupendous season record)? Grab a seat at Lazy Dog and demand to see your game on one of their many TVs or check out the Boulder Draft House calendar to see if your game will be shown! If you’re a Steelers fan, join your fellow East-coasters at Juanita’s on game day. Wear your jersey and get a free taco every time they score a touchdown, win free giveaways, and enjoy drink specials. Click here for a schedule.

And speaking of drink specials…you do NOT want to miss all the great deals that Autumn has to offer. West End Tavern will be serving up game day specials, NFL Sunday specials ($3 Mama’s Little Yella Pills saw what!?), and for two weeks only samplings from The Great American Beer Festival for those of us that couldn’t get tickets! Get ‘em by the pint or shell out $20 for 4oz pours of all 12 beers. If you enjoy a good stout like me, make sure to join in Conor O’Neills’ 250th birthday party September 24 for Guinness including $2.50 Guinness all day and a live telecast in Dublin at 5 p.m. If you're not still full by September 26, head back to celebrate Conor O'Neills' 10 year anniversary! 1/2 priced pints all day, giveaways on the hour and 10% off your entire tab just for stopping by.

Autumn has finally arrived friends! Bust out the hats and head downtown for great beer and great football.


-Claire Little

(p.s. I realize I wrote a farewell post a couple weeks ago, but after finally making good with the fax machine, I realized I still need to master the copier. Wish me luck!)

Psssst…don’t tell anyone, I’m a Buffs fan!

Let me clarify my headline, I’m a Buffs football fan. You see, I attended a college “where the mountains meet the sea” out west somewhere, and let me assure you with the price of beach real estate, there is no football stadium anywhere in sight! There is something fun and exciting in the air around college football season and I can’t imagine a better school to celebrate with than Boulder’s hometown team.

Don’t get me wrong, my Pepperdine Waves have an outstanding baseball, volleyball and water polo program - not to mention a heck of a surf team! Our big homecoming game centers around basketball (not to mention FREE In-N-Out Burgers)! Orange and blue pride abounds in the ‘Bu’ (what the locals call Malibu) but I have to admit, the Waves have got nothing on CU Buffs fans!

Evidence of this can be seen at the annual Pearl Street Stampedes that rumble through Downtown. The first one of the season was awesome – one of the largest (if not the largest) crowds ever assembled for this event! Thousands of fans of all ages and dressed in their Buffs best, headed down to the 1300 block to cheer on members of the Golden Buffalo Marching Band & football team two weeks ago (prior to the CSU game). So what if “we” haven’t won a game this season? As Scarlett O’Hara said, “tomorrow is another day!”

Tonight, let’s get out in full force and show support for “our” team. What better mental preparation than to see and hear cheering fans, the fight songs and the cheer squad. It’s supposed to be a beautiful evening, so grab your family and friends, put on some black and gold and meet your community in front of the Court House at 7 p.m. The Stampede heads west and ends in the Camera parking lot. And keep your eyes open for a lady wearing a black hoodie with a pink shirt revealing a few white letters (Go Waves!). While I’m proud to support the Buffs, I will forever be a Pepperdonian at heart!

2009 Pearl Street Stampede Dates:

Friday, September 18

Friday, October 16

Friday, October 30

Friday, November 6

- Terri, Pepperdine Class of '95

Ignite Boulder 6: Bringing in Down(town)

Ignite Boulder 6: Bringing in Downtown from Downtown Boulder on Vimeo.

Ignite Boulder was back at the Boulder Theater last night, selling out the venerable establishment and packing its 850 Art Deco seats. With the beer a flowing and a damn good looking crowd, local blog/startup impresario Andrew Hyde kicked off the now sixth incarnation of the self-professed Geek-fest, noting for the first time that the gals outnumbered the guys. Then Ef Rodriguez (@pugofwar) took the stage, a red guitar in had, and led us through heartbreak in the age of twitter to get the flaming ball rolling.

From Jen Wu's ignite on Food Porn (check out her awesome blog userealbutter.com) through Ryan Wagner's exploration of life through video games the speakers and the crowd bonded over brews and the soft lights of their PDAs. Sari Levy brought down the house with an alternative energy idea that mines the jackpot of Alabama's wealth(umm..fat), Naomi Meredith tried to keep up with her own slides though insults and friendship with old Willie S, and then Jen Newell's interactive Swedish lesson twisted our tongues. Christina Sagray's classy look at Classic literature through the eyes of modern chick flicks, folks were rolling in the aisles and shouts of encouragements rang out through the night.

Mountain Standard Time entertained the crowd at intermission, while parts of the funds from the night were going to be donated their way to offset their loss of equipment from theft in Eastern Colorado.

After the break, a sober Vennessa Scheinder regaled us with her DUI experiences (blow then hum...); Luke Tilsley taught us kissing; H. Clisbey gave us her look at bizarre beliefs and crazy people; George G. Smith, dressed in argyle for the ladies, taught us how to Master Debate; and Robot, fresh off the playa at Burning Man, taught us the ins and outs and fire appreciation that is 40,000 drug-crazed freaks in the desert. Huffington Post refugee and current Camera correspondent Dave Burdick used Ghostbusters to show what he learned about his craft, and the night ended with poignant take on Risk and reward from Emmy-winning mountain filmmaker Michael Brown, with film clips of his trips to high altitude locales like Everest with blind man and documenting tragedy and camaraderie of climbing the worlds toughest peaks.

Leaving the packed house, Hyde reminded all of his upcoming BoCo Conference in October so be sure to check it out for more music, conversation and community. A big thank you to all who made it the night happen, it was awesome to it see it in our vibrant Downtown and especially the amazing people that make it what it is.

Viva Ignite.

- Eli

Starr’s Clothing: 95 Years and shining brighter than ever.

Starr’s Clothing is without a doubt a Boulder institution. For 95 years they have been in Downtown Boulder providing quality clothing to the populace for multiple generations. When Ben Wigotow started in the store 1914, Boulder had just 31,000 residents with miners still in the hills. A recent immigrant from Russia, who was traveling west and stopped in Denver to visit a sister, Wigotow bought his first store at 1025 Pearl Street for $10. He starting selling suits and dry goods, making trips into the mountains to retail his wares to the mining community. Little did he know that over nine decades later his store would stand the test of time.

Although the name has changed (Originally known as A Star Show and Clothing Company), today’s third generation has kept the ethos that has made it such a lasting success. “Selling work clothes has always tapped into the spirit of Boulder,” owner Karen Wigotow says. “Starr’s was always a working man’s establishment where the Levis wall was always prominent. “ Now, 95 years later, customers who went to college here a generation bring their kids in, remarking that “his is where I bought my first hiking boots,” relates Karen Wigotow Having a store that has evolved with Boulder means the Wigotow family has seen the shifts in clients from miners to housewives, and hippies to yuppies. “ We’ve survived a lot of changes, and seen a lot move in and out…every 10 years it’s different, but the core customers always come back, ” said Wigotow.

And although they have moved their address over the years , home was always in Downtown Boulder, usually on or near the 1700 block of Pearl, where most customers remember this venerable institution. In 1947, Ben’s son became owner. He and his wife lived above the store on 17th and Pearl until his death in 1973. In fact the building still bears the old Starr's clothing logo on the alley side. George, like his father before him, made it a point to befriend his customers. “Everyone who comes in is our friend,” remarked Karen Wigotow, who has worked at Starr’s with husband Steve Wigotow since 1973. “We love to hear stories from the customer.” Karen recalls the old space across 17th Street that used to be an old Safeway before it housed Starr’s twin men and women’s’ stores. She still has customers come in who remember the unique floor and reminisce about playing hopscotch on its patterns, or playing under the stairs while their mothers shopped the two story store.

Karen and Steve have owned Starr’s for over a decade, picking up right where father George and Grandfather Ben left off. The key to their longevity on Pearl Street? “We always try to stay with the relaxed Boulder lifestyle as our key along with quality and style…we keep an interesting mix that is different from all the stores.” Karen adds, “By being local we are able to change with our customers more quickly than the chain stores and really get to know them on a more personal level.” With brands like Free People, Tommy Bahama, Levis, Carhartt, Lucky Brand, Royal Robbins and Columbia sportswear, Starr’s continues to attract new customers while being there for the generations that have relied on its quality for over nine decades. With four generations of Wigotows having worked at some point in the store, Starr’s Clothing has no plans of slowing down. “We are already making plans for our 100th Birthday bash!” Happy 95th anniversary to a Downtown Boulder landmark.