February Event Announcements

CCB Neighborhood Association Meeting: Tuesday, February 10th, 6:00pm. 360 Hooker Street, Denver, CO

Barnum Morning Walk Meetup at Barnum Park: Saturday, February 7th, 9:00am. 360 Hooker Street, Denver, CO (meet outside the pool entrance, more details on Nextdoor)

Barnum Neighbors Meetup @ Colorado Cider Company: Saturday February 21st, 3:00pm. 2650 West 2nd Avenue #10, Denver, CO 80219 (all neighbors over 21 welcome, email questions to welcometobarnum(at)gmail)

Have other announcements? Send us an email or leave us a comment!

We Love Barnum!

Hello! My name is RB Fast. I am a longtime Barnum resident and a new contributor to Welcome to Barnum. I am so excited for the chance to support this amazing place we live and connect with our neighbors. There are several ideas floating around in my mind about content that would be valuable to the neighborhood. But for my first blog post, I figure I should just go ahead and introduce myself to you.

We bought our West Barnum house in the summer of 2006. We abandoned the hip but cramped Lower Highland/Jefferson Park neighborhood in favor of some space for the baby we were expecting that fall. We instantly fell in love with our little brick house and our love for the neighborhood has consistently grown since day one. We have never looked back!

I live with my husband, Steve, and our eight-year-old daughter. Steve and I are both self-employed
(because apparently we are very comfortable with unpredictability). He is a professional woodworker and he owns a company called Fast Industries. You can find more on that at www.fastindustries.biz . His work is in homes and businesses all over Denver. You can find his work in places like The Denver Beer Company, the Monkey Barrel, Steep Tea & Coffee, and in February 2015 at Ratio Brew Works on 29th and Larimer.

I own a consulting firm that offers structure and support to non-profit organizations, Montessori schools (I was a Montessori teacher for many years), and early childhood education programs. You can find more about my work at www.beelineconsulting.net .

Our backyard garden nestled against the garage.

Our little Barnum house has been a labor of love as we have slowly remodeled the inside over the past eight years. We have also torn out a lot of our grass and added raised beds for growing food and flowers, a large chicken coop, and two bee hives. It is so fun to walk the neighborhood and see how many other folks are doing the same thing!

We live in a neighborhood full of people who work hard and live an honest life. It is such an honor to live among you and I so look forward to the many chances we will have to come together and get to know one another as we support each other and this special little spot in the corner of Denver that we call home.

Cheers!

Coming Soon: The Denver Tool Library

There are some super wonderful places and things right here in Barnum. That said, there seems to be an exploding volcano of awesome erupting precisely 2.5 miles in any direction from the center of our neighborhood. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, constantly repeating, "Such and such is only 15 to 20 minutes by bicycle!" for all the cool shit in West Denver. I can't decide if we're crazy unlucky and operating like a 2.5-mile-strength repellent to neat stuff, or if we're crazy lucky to be at the precise epicenter of all of these various areas of awesome. I guess it depends on how willing you are to ride a bicycle for 15-20 minutes at a time.

The newest 2.5 mile news is the Denver Tool Library, which will be opening its doors at 5th and Santa Fe in the near future. (That is 2.5 miles in the exact opposite direction from the Belmar ice rink that just reopened for the season 2.5 miles to the West.) It is precisely what it sounds like: a library to check out tools so you don't have to clutter up your 800 square foot Barnum house with a bunch of purchased tools you'll only ever need once or twice. You buy a $60 membership and BAM! borrow away. Check out their website here. Read an article about the Denver Tool Library in the Denver Post. And, if you're feeling as excited as I am about having them as a 2.5m neighbor, feel free to donate to their IndieGoGo campaign here.

Speaking of bicycling, have you heard the awesome news for Barnum bicyclists?! I'm gonna leave that as a teaser and make you tune in next time to find out more...

Earth Friendly in Barnum!

Now that we've been rid of our gross dumpsters in Barnum and Barnum West, it's easier than ever to recycle.

I'll be honest, but please don't hate me: I've been pretty rotten about recycling for a few years now. Spoiled by the dumpster in the alley, I found it impossible to either remember which day was recycling day or else to muster up the energy to drag the bin out and back into my yard at the designated time. I know, I'm a terrible person. Or, at least I was. Now I'm not! Now that I have to be mindful about trash day, I'm finding it rather easy to remember to put out my recycling bin. In fact, recycling has decreased our trash enough that we put out both bins every other week -- and the trash bin is nearly empty. Huzzah!

If you don't yet have a recycling bin, sign up online. Visit Denver's recycling website to see which items can be recycled. And, if you're having a tough time remembering to get your bins out, try signing up for reminders! And if, like many of my neighbors, you've been on the recycling train for ages, here's a celebration jump for you!

Barnum Handmade Christmas

Do you dread the mall scene this time of year? Skip it! Go shopping right here in your own neighborhood at the Barnum Handmade Christmas Craft Show! The Barnum Rec Center is hosting a holiday craft show on December 6th, 10:00-3:00pm. Pop in for some lovely little treasures to put under your Christmas tree -- without the traffic. Plus, handmade gifts are far more baller than factory-made, mass produced stuff.

Charlie's Barnum art shop, Barnum's Winter, will be at the Horseshoe Holiday Market, December 13-14 at the Highland's Masonic Center, north on Federal (3550 Federal Blvd.). There are so many great opportunities to shop local this holiday season for unique finds from Denver artists and craftsmen!

Farewell Autumn, Hello New Stuff

What a lovely autumn we had in Denver this year. I took this photo a couple weeks ago before winter descended. Now that winter has officially arrived, I thought I'd take this opportunity to give our new neighbors a heads up: Beware of Barnum hills on snowy days! Cars go up... and then they don't go up anymore... then they come back down. Backwards. Into other cars. It took me a full 30 minutes of bumper to bumper traffic to leave the neighborhood during our first snowstorm last week all because of stupid hills on Knox. Yikes! Take the flat roads if you can and leave plenty of room between cars!

In other news, I've added another page to the blog:  Neighborhood Services, Artists, and Musicians. It's a mouthful, for sure, and it's a work in progress. It's been simmering for a few months since Danyell of Zoologie Pet Services moved into the area and inquired about listing her awesome services for folks on the blog. Shortly after, I discovered A Shoreline Dream, a band whom you might know from CPR Open Air or the South by Southwest festival, also lives in our 'hood. The Nextdoor Barnum website occasionally explodes with requests for local roofers, tree trimmers, and lawn services. My inner librarian screamed, "THERE MUST BE A WAY TO ORGANIZE ALL OF THIS DISPARATE INFORMATION!" So, here's my first attempt at presenting the various talents, services, and home-based businesses that live right here in Barnum. Check it out, yo.

Barnum Market Days Meeting Announcement

BARNUM MARKET DAYS:

A DIY Farmer’s Market for Barnum

• Would you like to see a Farmer’s Market in Barnum next summer?

• Would you like to make money from all of your extra zucchini and peaches?

• Do you dream of raising chickens or of buying eggs from your neighbors?

• Would you like to help Barnum become even more interesting, friendly, and sustainable?

Come join the discussion and find out how you can be involved in this awesome new community adventure!

Barnum Market Days Meeting

Sunday, 02 November 2014

3:00pm

at the Barnum Community Garden (2nd and Lowell)

Rain, snow, or shine!

All interested neighbors are invited!

Questions? Comments? Email: welcometobarnum@gmail.com

Help spread the word! Tell your neighbors! Print this awesome flyer and paper your block!  Spanish translation is in the works and will be added shortly.