Best of the West: Entertainment

Readers’ Picks:

Fest/Fair

Lafayette Peach Festival

What happens when you shut down an entire downtown, invite the whole community, and ship in thousands of pounds of plump peaches? Complete perfection! The Lafayette Peach Fest combines fruit, sun and the masses for one giant street fair dedicated to Colorado’s most delicious natural resources.

Music venue

Nissi’s

There are music venues that are just frankly way too big. There are music venues that are way too small. But Lafayette’s Nissi’s is just right. Bringing in local mainstays like Soul School and Face and celebrating local talent, this cozy venue has the right stuff.

Boulder Theater

The Boulder Theater is a hefty venue with lots of personality, history and soul. The line-up is always stellar.

Movie Theater

Cinemark Century Boulder at 29th Street Mall

It’s cool, it’s comfy, it’s dark. All movie theaters are the same, right? Not this Boulder movie spot. Situated in the bowels of the 29th Street Mall, the Century Boulder offers kiosk ticketing, an arcade, a lobby café (I think that’s like a snack bar) and RealD 3D theaters.

Gallery

pARTiculars

PARTiculars is a not a traditional gallery. It’s more like a Mecca of local craftspeople, artisans, artists and creatives in a casual, friendly setting. It’s how Lafayette
does gallery.

Art And Soul

Art and Soul brings a sophisticated, contemporary sensibility to the micro-breweries, coffee shops and outdoor gear retailers of Pearl Street. But this is still Boulder, so you’ll find funky jewelry and rustic sculptures among sleek, modern art.

Museum

Longmont Museum

In recent years, Longmont has garnered attention for its theater, art and the numerous exhibitions and offerings from the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center. From graffiti art to local history to the current Girl Scouts Together for 100 Years, the Longmont Museum keeps surprising and impressing us with its cultural efforts.

BMOCA

The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art is a treasure trove of creative exploration. With works from international artists to local high school kids, it’s filled with works that are inspired and inspiring.

Theater

Longmont Theater Company

Theater comes in all shapes and sizes, but to be good theater, it has to be—at its most basic—entertaining. The Longmont Theater Company accomplishes this with skill and humor. From selection to production, the theater company knows its audience and knows how to entertain a crowd.

Boulder Dinner Theater

You know all those stereotypes about dinner theaters? Consider them squashed. Any dinner theater that brings Avenue Q to its stage is fine by us. And while the production won’t hit Boulder until fall, you can see Boulder Dinner Theater’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone, which just has to be funny.

Auto Repair

Stonum Automotive

How do you really know if an auto repair shop is good? The returning customers. Stonum has built a business over the last eight years on the relationships it’s created with customers. They call it customer service. But we say it’s all about trust.

Pellman’s Automotive Service

A waiting room says a lot about an auto shop, and with a plush couch, free coffee, wifi and sunlight, you know that Pellman’s has your back. Plus, technical expertise is their No. 1 pillar. Not too shabby!

Chiropractor

Chiropractic Center of Erie

Whether you are a newcomer to the chiropractic sciences or you get your back adjusted once a month, The Chiropractic Center of Erie has a nice balance of smarts and approachability. They’ve successfully realigned both world-class athletes and average folks.

Café of Life

Café of Life is not your typical wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type of chiropractic business. They have an entire philosophy: a “specific practice consciousness and inner management system.” And while we don’t really know what that means, our readers dig it.

Vet

Jasper Animal Hospital

Dr. Dodge is a favorite of Lafayette’s local dogs and cats. Seriously, beyond his mad skills as a vet, Dodge has a passion for little fuzzies and the people who love them. His Jasper Animal Hospital does not feel like a hospital—but a place of health and happiness for your pets.

Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital

From a pet insurance expert to on-site canine massage to digital X-rays, Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital’s offerings run the gamut and reflect Boulder’s compassion for the animal race. With a blend of traditional and complementary veterinary medicine, it gives families plenty of options.

Politician

Jared Polis

Whether he’s on Twitter, shaking hands at a local event or even talking shop on his website, our readers adore Rep. Jared Polis. And during his campaigning this year, you just know he’s not gonna make any Etch-a-Sketch blunders, and that’s what we love
about him.

Chef

TIE: Hosea Rosenberg and Bradford Heap

The readers are obviously unable to pick between these two local chefs. While Bradford Heap continues to churn out amazing dishes at both Salt and Colterra, Top Chef winner Hosea Rosenberg is about to show locals why he’s a champ with his new Blackbelly Catering. Let’s get ready to rumble, fellas.

Professional

Hartney Family and Estate Law

True, Martha Hartney is a lawyer. But she’s also a resource for estate planning: offering workshops, blog posts, YouTube videos and tons of advice. She’s breaking the mold.

Teacher

Ms. Kingsley,
Ryan Elementary

Courtney Kingsley is a  first grade teacher at Ryan Elementary, and it’s obvious this young woman has made fans of her students and their parents. She received more than double the votes of the next vote-getting teacher.

Family Friendly Activity AND Date Night:

Crackpots

Longmont’s Crackpots takes home wins for both best Family Friendly Activity and Date Night Activity, which is a rare feat. To be able to entertain small children and engage an adult couple is pretty cool. So, there you are: either bring your kids or bring your husband and a bottle of wine for some pottery-painting and more creative fun (check ecrackpots.com for date nights).

Private School:

Alexander Dawson Schools

At Dawson—as they call it—students get a gorgeous 108-acre campus, six soccer fields, two tennis courts, rock climbing wall, outdoor swimming pool, ropes course, world-travel opportunities, an iPad program, campus-wide wireless and a professional chef to help them be as successful as they can be. Is it just us, or does that sound more like a resort than a school?

Public School

Ryan Elementary

This Boulder Valley elementary is a STEAM school (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics), meaning these kids get a well-rounded education that begins to prepare them for the modern workforce. Give kids an iPad, they can play Angry Birds. Teach kids to be Apple engineers, they can buy their parents a vacation home
in Hawaii.

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