Neighborhood Concert & Artwalk

Let the fundraising begin!!!

We've booked some really great musicians to come play for our fundraiser next Sunday, the 18th!

At 2:00 Mutt & Pug Dog will start things off with their mandolin/guitar duo.  

At 3:00 will are fortunate to welcome The Magpies Duo who bring the element of bluegrass, country and old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes.  

4:00 will begin with the local band Pot O' Gold featuring skilled guitar playing and tight harmonies in the folk and celtic genre.

5:00 will bring us the fabulous children's musicians and performers Jeff Kagan & Paige Doughty, who are entertaining for all ages and write really wonderful songs with an earth-friendly message.

And at 6:00 we will welcome K.C. Groves and her band The Jaspers.  K.C. has been part of the local music scene for many years, she puts on the Bluegrass Jam at Oskar Blues every Tuesday night and was a founding member of the internationally-known band Uncle Earl.  She has generously agreed to come play at our fundraiser and you will be blown away by how amazing these women sound when they sing and play together, like angels, truly.

Lauren Dartt

We also have some great artists coming to share their work at the event.  Lauren Dartt will have her paintings on display, Dorje Dolma will bring mixed media, pen and ink and also some jewelry that she makes and Laurie Dallenbach is going to share her sculptures.  Also part of the artwalk will be the eight mosaic murals that have been made entirely by the Elm Tree teachers.   Each piece represents something the children experience when they are in our playscape, and include the four elements: water, earth, air and fire.

Laurie Dallenbach

Dorje Dolma

Other fun things to do at the event include getting your face painted (thank you Samantha Cole-Johnson!!), making art in the Children's Nature Art Zone, participating in painting a mural for our playscape, snacking on some hors d'ourves or sipping a drink while listening to some great music, taking a tour of our playscape, enjoying the art on display, bidding in our silent auction or buying a CD or two to take home!

No need to RSVP, unless you want to volunteer for the event!  Just show up at 1330 Alpine Ave on Sunday anytime between 2 and 7pm, parking is extremely limited and alternative transportation highly encouraged!

Save the Date - September 18th - An Afternoon of Music, Art and Fundraising Fun

We have decided on a fundraising idea to get us through the last remaining projects in our playscape!!!  I'm not sure what to call this yet, an art walk with live music?  A backyard concert with art?  A fabulous neighborhood fundraiser to be sure!

Sunday, September 18th from 2pm-7pm we will hold a fundraiser in our backyard.  We plan to invite local musicians to perform throughout the afternoon and local artists to come display their sculptures, garden art, installations, etc.

So, how do we turn this event into a fundraiser?  We plan to ask for a suggested donation of $10 per adult the door as one avenue of raising the needed funds.  Any artists selling their work will be asked to donate a portion of their sales to the Playscape Project as well.  We will be contacting local breweries and wineries for donations of adult beverages for folks to enjoy on a donation per glass basis while they listen to music and wander through the yard enjoying the art, visiting with neighbors and finding out what a playscape is all about.  As always, it's more than just raising funds, it's also a chance to raise awareness about the need for children to connect with nature in a real, meaningful way every day.  So we hope to invite folks from the community to come  to this fabulous event!

Since we are still in the planning stage, we'll have more news about our artists, musicians and ways to help out in the very near future!  But for now, put a big circle around the 18th on your calendar and plan to stop by!

Next Steps - Sound and Sensory Garden, Fundraising and More!!!!!

Enjoying the outdoor art area

The Art Area

Our project is nearing completion, though we still have a few key features to install.  Already the yard is looking quite fantastic!  The garden is really taking off and we look forward to getting to use our greenhouse this fall!  If anyone has ideas how to heat it using active or passive solar energy we could even manage to use it through the winter for year-round growing.

We also still need shelving and a drip irrigation system in the greenhouse.  We'd like to get these items second-hand if possible the reduce the overall cost.  Let us know if you have any leads on where to get these last few things!

Tomatoes are ripening

An inviting path

The pumpkins are happy and getting huge!!

Strawberry Hill is cascading into the walkway

Beans galore!!!

Ripe with potential

The next phase will be digging up our pea gravel river and making a hill complete with slide.  We have lined up a fantastic bobcat operator, a grandfather of one of our little ones, who has volunteered his services for a day.  We're also speaking with a local landscaper who is possibly interested in helping us once the excavating has been done.  The slide is probably the most expensive element of this entire project, outdoor play equipment is quite expensive but for safety reasons, it's probably best to purchase this one new.  They cost around $900 to get the size and style that we need!

Checking out one of the new murals!

The layout of the remaining projects will probably look something like this:
Day 1:  Dig up the pea gravel area and make the river, hill and place boulders.
Day 2:  Using clay mixed with a binder, make a circular patio for our group area and install the benches and redwood bridge
Day 3: Put in sprinkler system, lay sod and stepping stones, plant herbs, flowers, grasses and groundcovers
Day 4: Put in the musical instruments and sound installations
Day 5: Create the circular cob structure for our resting area

All of these elements will also come with a price tag.  We've have nearly depleted the playscape funds from the fundraiser we held in April, putting in the garden and building the greenhouse took the majority of the funds with the mosaics using up the rest.

The water play area

Now we have to think of one final way to raise funds for our remaining projects.  Since we have some volunteer help promised and materials that we've already purchased such as the redwood bridge and boulders, we believe that between $2000-$2500 would be all we need to finish this!  Anyone interested in donating funds or materials or volunteer their help please contact us, we won't say no to anyone!  Also, we'd love some creative input for ideas on ways to raise these funds.

Some ideas we've had include:

1) Holding an art show in our backyard and inviting the community to see what we've done and what we plan to do.  Many of our teachers and staff members are artists, and some of our parents too!  Maybe we could collaborate and hold a fun joint artist's show!

2) A carnival or fair in our backyard, this would require a lot of volunteer help, but could be a lot of fun to have games, bouncy castle, face-painting, etc.

3) Yard sale - we typically do hold a yard sale in late August or early September, but this year we don't have as many donations as usual and wonder if the interest in this is waning or if enough people are interested in donating items and helping set this up, it could be exactly what we need to finish.

4) Seeking donations from funds or businesses who support this type of project.  This is made more difficult by the fact that we are not a non-profit, but not impossible.

5) Ask local bands if they would be willing to come play a couple of songs and set up another music-type fundraiser, maybe with grown-up music this time...

Other ideas are welcomed too, and anyone interested in helping with one or more of these please contact Sarah so we can start planning and dreaming!

Willows are leafing out

Soon to be our dirt-digging area, already the kids have started making that happen though!

Everything is looking so beautiful!

Fundraising Success!!

On Sunday, April 10th we were so happy to be able to hold a fundraiser for our natural playscape project.  Lois LaFond and the Rockadiles, a very fun band that plays children's music that everyone can enjoy (that includes parents!), so kindly offered to provide the entertainment for us!!!

As the music played and the families danced together, we also held a silent and live auction with all the lovely items donated by our wonderful families and amazing teachers!!

So much gratitude goes out to all of you who helped make this possible, to Lois and her talented crew, the parents and teachers who donated silent auction items and volunteered time to this event.  To the Lazy Dog for providing the space for our event.  Thank you thank you thank you!




Thanks to everyone's efforts w were able to raise over $2,100 towards our playscape project!  This means we'll be breaking ground on our garden expansion soon!

For those who wanted to come and donate to the playscape but were unable to be there, there is still a link to our Paypal donation page here, on our website's natural playscape page.

Fundraiser! Fundraiser! Fundraiser!

Sunday, April 10th

11am - 1pm

at the

Lazy Dog Lounge

1346 Pearl St, Boulder

!!!!!!Mark your calendars!!!!!!! 

The Elm Tree's Natural Playscape fundraiser held this spring will include live music by a wonderful and very fun band called Lois LaFond and the Rockadiles!!!! 

This music is for kids but adults will also be delighted by the toe-tapping beats and creative lyrics of the Rockadiles.  They first started playing gigs and recording albums in 1984.  The fundraiser will be their official kick-off for their reunion tour and it is sure to be lots of fun!  We will also feature a silent auction that will include art and other items from local artists and merchants.  Come support this wonderful project and have a great Sunday afternoon!!!

Food and drinks (for adults and children) will be available at Lazy Dog as well so plan to come out and eat, dance, bid and mingle with your Elm Tree and greater Boulder community!

Artists interested in donating artwork for the silent auction please contact us via email (elmtree@qwestoffice.net) or phone (303-442-7140) ASAP!!!

How to put the "fun" in fundraising

Toddler Art Show

So, we've got a great idea - to frame, mat and display toddler art pieces and show it off as the "real" art that it really is.  Many contemporary artists would be hard pressed to find such freedom of expression, such joy in each and every stroke.  Not to mention the fact that some of the work they do is simply gorgeous and would look great hanging on YOUR wall.  Think what a great story it would make too!

We'd like to put together this art show/fundraiser in a great venue, one where the art is visible and there is plenty of daily foot traffic, so probably a coffee shop or cafe in the local area would work best. 

For opening night we'll like to host some live music from local musicians.  January or February would be perfect, timing-wise, for us.  If you'd like to be involved, help us think of the perfect location and ask your favorite local musicians if they'd help with a benefit concert! 

For another fundraiser, families may purchase some really great kid's music CD's for sale by Lois LaFond and the Rockadiles.  Lois, who has a grandchild currently in the program, has generously offered to donate 1/2 of the proceeds from each CD sale to our Natural Playscape fund.  Please visit the link above for purchase information.