Our Twitter-Verse

Every month Eli adds a few more Downtown Boulder twitter feeds. Some will blow up, others abandoned. However, attempts are being made and every day the tool becomes slightly more ubiquitous. Twitter users in Boulder are surely among the most virtually connected real community around. Yet, the most unique thing about Boulder's twitter users is the quality of both messages and interaction.

There seem to be three unique demographics tweeting in Boulder, originally stemming from the prevalent tech and PR crowd. That, and users can connect with such a variety of users; from the Boulder Bookstore to the T-Bar, Pharmaca to Liquor Mart. There is no commonality, except geography for any Twitter users listed at BoulderDowntown.com. Also, these represent only the tip of the iceberg in Boulder. Twitter regulars such as @andrewhyde, @doylealbee and @pugofwar keep the Boulder twittersphere full of personality. Whether updating daily, or an emerging presence anyone can enjoy a piece of the conversation using this unique medium.

Boulder is unique in their civic adoption of Twitter, and this deserves significant attention. Boulder Parking, Boulder Police, Boulder Parks and Rec., and Go Boulder all maintain a twitter presence. Just following these users will give a great idea of what is going on in the cities government. And of course, for the latest news from Downtown Boulder just follow Downtown Boulder and we'll aggregate the latest and greatest news from all the downtown businesses who have jumped on the twitter bandwagon.


-Ian

Bikers and Peds Rebel! Parking Spaces Day This Friday!

It's Parking Spaces Day this Friday in Downtown Boulder! On June 12th East End businesses will transform 8x17 plots of grade-A storefront parking into community spaces. Take a mini-exercise class, work on your putting skills, relax and read a book, do some yoga or sit back and chat with other visitors in the variety of spaces the East End has to offer! Pedestrians and bikers can play parking spaces Bingo by downloading a card here and getting stamps along the way. Once filled, you can enter to win a slew of prizes at the end of the day.

As part of Walk & Bike Month, this event strives to promote a cleaner planet and brighter community. This day will help visualize a world-wide movement for replacing space for cars with space for humans. Parking Spaces Day dares to imagine a place where the 3,778 parking spaces in Downtown Boulder are no longer needed and can be transformed into free bike racks and community spaces for all.

Momentum, one of the many businesses participating this Friday, will be celebrating their 2nd birthday with cake, a massage chair and drawing for a $50 gift certificate at their space. During the day they will also be unveiling their life-size galimoto, a traditional Kenyan bicycle push toy, created from scrap in collaboration with Community Cycles. The Cup will also be participating by following the footsteps of Portland, Missouri and New York by offering bike corrals in an effort to reduce the number of bikes locked up to trees, benches or street signs. Joyful Furniture, another participant, will be holding a paint-your-own-park-bench activity in their 136 square feet. Other businesses participating will be Barrett Studio, Aji, Full Cycle, Urban Pearl and Violette.

Don't miss Walk & Bike Month's Parking Spaces Day in Downtown Boulder's East End from 10 a.m - 2 p.m. Friday June 12th. Also, Bike to Work Day is coming up June 24th! Register here!

-Claire Little

Downtown Boulder Newsletter for June 5th

NEWS YOU CAN USE

To skip to a specific news item, use the links below! To read them all, just scroll on down.

• Park(ing) Spaces Day
• Win $50 Downtown Boulder Gift Card
• Hop 2 Chautauqua - Free Summer Transit
• Juanita's Celebrates 25 Years!
• Bands on the Bricks
• Kidlinks a Resounding Success!
• Increasing Customer Traffic and Sales
• Passing of a Downtown Friend
• Parking Pay Station Q & A
• Website Tips and Tricks
• Spotlight On: Noon Tunes

Walk & Bike Month: ‘Park(ing)’ Spaces Day
On Park(ing) Spaces Day, businesses and individuals will occupy and transform downtown paid parking spaces into places where visitors can stop, visit, and benefit from many different types of activities.
Click here for more info.

Win $50 Downtown Boulder Gift Card
Summer is on its way and so is the next issue of our new magazine, Downtown: Local Shops, Local Stories. For our second issue we need your help to find out which Rooftops in Downtown Boulder are your favorite to hang out on. Respondents will be entered into a drawing for a $50 DBI Gift Card. .Thanks for your help! Vote for your choice by clicking here.

Hop 2 Chautauqua - Free Summer Transit
The city of Boulder will return to its roots this summer by offering free transit service to passengers traveling between Downtown Boulder and Chautauqua Park. The service will run every 15 minutes, 7 days a week, from noon to 10pm until August 24th, with extended hours and service to the Williams Village east parking lot on Chautauqua concert nights. The route circles downtown and runs along 9th Street and Baseline Road, and will include major stops at Pearl and 13th streets and the 27th Way Park-n-Ride. Click here for more.

Juanita's Celebrates 25 Years!
Juanita's Mexican Restaurant will be throwing a weekend-long celebration starting June 13, 2008, in honor of its 25th year on Boulder's historic Pearl Street Mall. The public is invited to enjoy a weekend of food, drink, music and frivolity. For more on this event, click here.

Bands on the Bricks
Come on down to Pearl Street on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 pm starting June 18th for our most popular concert series; Bands on the Bricks. Bands on the Bricks features the best dance bands in the Front Range and appeals to music lovers of all ages. The ten concerts are held in the 1300 block of Pearl on the bricks in front of the Boulder County Courthouse.
Click here for the for the full schedule.

Kidlinks a Resounding Success!
Produced by Flatiron Rotary and Downtown Boulder, Inc., KidLinks Golf Tournament is a large community event and Downtown Boulder businesses are big contributors to its huge success.

A big thank you to the downtown businesses that were contributing sponsors: The Colorado Daily, Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop and the Boulder Book Store. Downtown companies hosting teams were Colorado Capital Bank, Trailhead Group at Smith Barney, Kingsbery, Baris, Vogel & Nuttal, The Med, Brasserie Ten Ten, Wells Fargo, PEH Architects, Sargent Bickham & Lagudis, James Travel, Jamison Plavec and Company, Lynn Bird of Caplan & Earnest , and Boulder Associates. Downtown businesses contributing prizes were the Body Shop, The Farmer’s Market and DBI.

Presenting sponsors for the tournament were Aramark, Humana and Golden Triangle Construction. Lunch was sponsored by Great-West Health Care, a putting tournament by Roche Colorado, and beverage tickets by Sodexo Health Care.

Increasing Customer Traffic and Sales
“Increasing Customer Traffic and Sales in Any Economy” seminar, presented by Jon Schallert, was attended by Deputy Director Dave Adams and other downtown Boulder leaders last month. Schallert is an internationally-recognized speaker and small business expert who teaches businesses and communities how to turn themselves into Consumer Destinations.

Topics included targeting your customers, positioning your business, product spotlighting, email and non-traditional marketing including generating free publicity. Jon stressed the importance of “Buzz Marketing” citing word of mouth is 12 times more likely to be believed than advertising! For more information contact the Schallert Group 303-774-6522 or www.JonSchallert.com

Passing of a Friend of Downtown
Many of you may have heard about the passing of the father of KGNU, Glen Gerberg, but you may not have realized that he was also one of the voices of the Lights of December Parade and a close personal friend of event manager Renae Foxhoven. Glen hosted the second announcing stand a few times.

Most recently, this last December he co-hosted the stage with fellow KBCO alum, Frank Eriksen. His battle with cancer had taken much of his energy so the two tagged-team the announcing. The Downtown Boulder community, and especially Renae, mourns the loss of this great voice that was such a part of this event.

Parking Paystation Q & A
Now that the solar powered pay stations are up and running there are a few questions that people have. This section addresses these questions.

Q: What happens if a pay station doesn’t work?

A: You can always pay at any other pay station if one does not function. The pay stations will communicate with the parking division employees to report a problem. The problem will be corrected quickly, but until it is fixed, it is one's responsibility to pay at another unit.

If you have a specific question you would like answered send an email to parking@dbi.org.

Website Tips and Tricks
Did You Know…
You can buy any quantity of Downtown Boulder Gift Cards through our online payment system?

Try it...

1. Go to BoulderDowntown.com
2. Click on the “biz” icon (shaking hands, 4th row, 2nd column)
3. On left side, click on “Resource Guide” button
4. Use the links to navigate and find a wealth of information on starting a business in Boulder.

So go ahead, try it now at boulderdowntown.com.

NEW MEMBERS AND OPENINGS

NEW MEMBERS

Spud Brothers
Contact: James Rinker
2010 10th Street | 303-444-2187
Spud Brothers offers three different varieties of potatoes: fried; half-fried and half-baked; and baked; along with a selection of gourmet sauces focused on the freshest ingredients. Open 11:00 AM till 11:00 PM
Every Day
www.spud-bros.com

NEW OPENINGS

Boulder Furniture Arts
Contact: Lew Collins
820 Pearl St. | 303-443-2030
"Beautiful things to make your house a home." Stained GgasslLamps and windows, Handcrafted cherry, walnut, pine, oak and maples designed by Lew Collins.
www.mountainfurniturearts.com

FEATURED GIFT CARD PARTICIPANT
Migun In Boulder
What's free and worth every penny it costs? Migun massage, of course! At Migun In Boulder, you can always enjoy free trial use of our acupressure massage beds with jade stone and far infrared. But once you see what Migun massage can do for you, you're going to want to take one home with you.

It feels good, but it does so much more. Let Migun help you: relax, regenerate and rejuvenate; relieve chronic aches and pains; increase energy and endurance; reduce stress and toxicity; and increase circulation and oxygenation. A Migun massage bed could be the best investment in your health you could ever make.

Migun In Boulder, 1909 Broadway, Ste. 100. 303-442-8777. Tuesdays-Fridays, 9 AM - 7 PM, Saturdays & Sundays, 12 - 5 PM. No appointment necessary.

The Downtown Boulder Gift Card is good at over 160 locations throughout downtown!

SPOTLIGHT ON

Noon Tunes

You know summer is finally here when you hear the strains of music coming from the bricks Fridays from noon to one. Downtown Boulder's Noon Tunes features great local music of all genres—bluegrass, folk, rock, classical. The concerts are held in the 1300 block of Pearl on the bricks in front of the Boulder County Courthouse, and are free for everyone!.

So take a break this summer on Fridays and enjoy your lunch in Downtown Boulder, with a full concert schedule of old favorites and new acts that will tantalize your ears and may just make you get up and dance. Bring the family along and have a bite to eat at one our many delicious restaurants while you take in the sight and sounds on the bricks with Downtown Boulder's Noon Tunes.

Click here to view or print the full schedule

NEW BUSINESSES

May
Boulder Furniture Arts- Home Furnishings
Spud Brothers - Eatery
Starfish- Jewelry
Volcom - Apparel

April
Scentchips- Home Fragrances
Two Sole Sisters- Shoes

March
Crepes Ala Carte - Eatery
Snap - Eatery
Willow - Artistan's Market

HOT RETAIL PROPERTY
900 Pearl St.
(click the picture for info)

PARKING SPACES
FOR RENT
Downtown Parking is available for rent immediately. Tebo Development has assigned parking located just south of Arapahoe and Broadway. This off-street parking is just a short walk to Pearl Street via Broadway or 13th Street. $55 per month. For more details, contact Janis at 303-447-8326 or mail@tebo.biz