Castle Rock Crew #007

Hope you lovebirds had a great Valentine’s and President’s Day Weekend!

And, thank you to everyone who has reached out to me so far - whether intentionally (Michael, Lisa, Paul, and many more) or unintentionally (you know who you are 😂)!

If there’s anything on your mind, anything you want to suggest to be covered, or you want to get involved, please reach out at [email protected].

This week in Castle Rock…

Local Spotlight:

Tri Arts Project

Even if you are not the “artsy” type, there’s a good chance that Tri Arts Project has something for you. I have negative artistic talent, so I think I need to start by spending some time doing their Sonic Expansion class to get my creative juices flowing!

Tri Arts Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded in Castle Rock in 2022 by a small group of dedicated women, who saw the need for a unifying center for the arts. Castle Rock has been described as one of the best places to live in Colorado (so by extension, the world) because of its excellent amenities and services, but it lacked opportunities for art education classes and art exhibitions. Residents had to drive twenty to thirty miles away to take classes! That’s where Tri Arts Project (TAP) stepped in with its mission “to provide space and opportunities for the education, creation and presentation of the arts.”

The original board members were Katie D’Arcangelo, Joanie Porter, Jacque Ruff, Cherie Monteferrante, and Lisa Lopez Huffman. Today, the board consists of nine members: Dana Frazee, president, Katie D’Arcangelo, vice president, Dawn Jones, treasurer, Rhea Hiemstra, secretary, Jacque Ruff, Christine Whaling, Dane Robinson, Kim Hosler and Jay Boykin.

The board members have worked tirelessly to establish TAP into what it is today and got a huge boost in October 2023 at its first Art of Giving gala when TAP volunteers raised nearly $70k for a center. Next, by partnering with Castle Rock’s Parks and Rec, the directors were able to secure classroom and exhibition spaces at the historic Cantril School Building through the Town of Castle Rock’s request for proposal (RFP) process. After the partnership was signed at the end of July 2024, TAP opened its doors on September 1, 2024, and provided classes for 150 residents from September through December.

TAP’s first exhibition occurred at that same time, with art on the walls from TAP’s board and committee volunteers--a type of reward for all of their hard work! Additionally, on January 17, TAP opened its first statewide exhibit “abstracts and landscapes” juried by artist Christian Dore. Christian was the TAP Talk artist that night speaking to the ninety people in attendance about his life growing up in England and how he came to Colorado where his art flourished. The next TAP Talk and exhibition will open on April 4. Many of TAP’s instructors will be invited to exhibit pieces of their work for the show. The instructors are different types of incredible artists from several cities--Castle Rock, Denver, Lone Tree, Parker, Colorado Springs and beyond.

In January 2025, Tri Arts Project’s full line of classes was printed in the Parks and Rec Guide—seven pages of classes in ten different categories! That was a big step in raising awareness for TAP and what it has to offer the community of Castle Rock and the surrounding areas, but more publicity is always needed and that takes money.

Tri Arts Project is hosting its second Art of Giving gala on April 25 at Cielo’s on Happy Canyon Road. James Holmes, the executive director of Cherokee Ranch, is the keynote speaker. The public is invited to attend and you can purchase tickets on Tri Arts Project’s website. Proceeds from the ticket sales and auctions will support TAP’s program funds to enhance class offerings and marketing for those classes. Tri Arts Project is funded entirely by donors and program revenue. In 2024, TAP had several generous sponsors who donated over $50k for program funds.

Tri Arts Project would like to see this incredible generosity extended to 2025 with additional sponsors coming on board to support the center’s art programs and exhibitions. TAP has a goal of doubling the sponsorship to $100k each year. A long-range goal for the board is to secure enough funds to hire a staff person who could manage the instructor’s contracts, scheduling, and classes because, at this time, the volunteer board of directors and committee members do everything at TAP—out of love for the arts!

A fun and easy way to get involved is signing up for one of the classes below:

Holiday Cookie Decorating: the Valentine’s one filled up quickly so don’t hesitate!

• St. Patrick’s - March 15th

• Easter - April 12th

• Mother’s Day - May 3rd

Shout out to Dana Frazee who helped me put this spotlight together!

Sponsorship

Reach out if you’re interested in sponsoring the newsletter. [email protected]

Sports:

• Broncos - things are quiet right now…too quiet. We’ll see what sort of moves the Broncos can make in the offseason…I’m thinking something big. Strengthen the o-line, adding to their already strong core of wideouts…we’ll have the draft later in April - hopefully we can crush it again like last year!

• Nuggets - they wrapped up last week with another win over the Trail Blazers and entered the All Star break with an eight game winning streak, a record of 36-19, and the 3rd spot in the Western Conference. They’ll resume play on Thursday with a game against the Hornets. I have no idea what happened over All Star Weekend and could not care less. Haven’t watched any of it in probably a decade. I guess they tried a new format and will probably be going back to the old format…I’ll continue passing on watching.

• Avalanche - Avs will be back from the International Break on Saturday to face the Predators.

• Rockies - Spring Training starts this week and the Rockies will face the Diamondbacks on Friday. I’m wondering if they’re even worth covering in the newsletter. Let’s see how they look here early on.

• Rapids - Play will start this week in the Champions Cup tournament with a match against LAFC tonight at home. Regular season play will begin with a match against St. Louis City SC on Saturday. They just made a big move and acquired midfielder Josh Atencio from the Seattle Sounders, so we’ll see what they can put together this season.

Let us know if there’s a local team that you want highlighted! [email protected]

Events:

Renaissance Families - Great Divide is helping Renaissance PCF with a fundraiser today and tomorrow. 10% of sales will be donated to Renaissance PCF when you mention Renaissance to your server or to your host if you’re ordering to-go.

Playa Bowls’ 5 days of giveaways kicked off yesterday! Their Grand Opening is this Saturday at 11:00am, if you haven’t taken advantage of their soft opening yet! First 50 customers get a free bowl and a t-shirt.

PSA - In case you didn’t hear, Tribe closed 😔…bummer, I always enjoyed their food.

Tuesday, 2/18:

Courtyard Social (every weekday) - Happy Hour - 2:30pm-5:00pm

Wild Blue Yonder - JEOPARDY! Bar League Trivia - 7:00pm-9:00pm

I.C. Brewhouse - Trivia - 6:30pm

Honnibrook Craft Meadery - Trivia - 7:00pm-8:30pm

Wednesday, 2/19:

Hideaway Bar & Grill - DJ Trivia - 7:00pm-9:00pm

Thursday, 2/20:

Starbucks (outlets) - Coffee with a Cop - 10:00am-11:00am

CR Rec Center - Summer Job Fair - 3:00pm-6:00pm

Hideaway Bar & Grill - Karaoke with Big E Entertainment - 8:00pm-12:00am

Iron Mule - Dungeons & Dragons Night - 6:00pm-9:00pm

Eagles 3947 - Dart Blind Draw - No membership required ($10 buy-in) - 6:00pm

Friday, 2/21:

Sinners & Saints - Lauren King Live at the Altar - 8:00pm-10:00pm

Honnibrook Craft Meadery - Live Music! Asha Blaine - 6:00pm-9:00pm

Saturday, 2/22:

Courtyard Social - Brunch - 10:00am-2:30pm

Hideaway Bar & Grill - Brunch - 10:00am-2:00pm

105 West Brewing - Live Music! Jax Jordening

Crostini Class - The Grange Main - 6:00pm-8:00pm register

Hideaway Bar & Grill - Karaoke with Big E Entertainment - 8:00pm-12:00am

Sinners & Saints - DJ Max Dance Party - Night

Sunday, 2/23:

Courtyard Social - Brunch - 10:00am-2:30pm

Hideaway Bar & Grill - Brunch - 10:00am-2:00pm

Heads up on events that are further out:

Lazy Dog - waiting on an opening date, but hopefully early spring!

Mod Mountain Boutique - Liverpool Trunk Show - Feb 28 10:00am-7:00pm

Castle Rock Crankers - registration is open. Check out crcrankers.org to see if your MS/HS kid would be interested!

Sinners & Saints - Movie & a Meal! The Princess Bride! - Feb 25th 7:00pm-9:00pm

Castle Rock Film Festival - April 10th to 12th - get tix here

Let us know of any events, establishments/businesses that you would like us to highlight coming editions. [email protected]

Sponsorship

Reach out if you’re interested in sponsoring the newsletter. [email protected]

Photo of the week:

@joshbru taking advantage of some of that snow in Breck!

Do something fun or snap a photo of something cool? Send it to [email protected] if you want to share it!

Jobs:

Bien Y Tu - Bartenders, Bussers, and Hosts - apply in person outside of their busy lunch and dinner rushes

Parks & Rec Flyer below:

Let us know if you’re hiring and we’ll drop your job opening here. [email protected]

Snow Report:

Thank goodness for some snow! ☃️

• Aspen Snowmass - 40-73” base

• Breckenridge - 65” base

• Copper Mountain - 73” base

• Keystone - 55” base

• Vail - 78” base

• Winter Park - 60-63” base

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