Boulder Creek Festival, Bolder Boulder kick off summer

Boulder Creek Fest When: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Boulder Bandshell, food courts, beer gardens open until 10 p.m.) and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday (Bandshell, food courts, beer gardens open until 7 p.m.)Where: SATURDAYBandshellRock & Pop Music AcademyCosmopolitics...

Boulder Creek Festival, Bolder Boulder kick off summer

Boulder Creek Fest

When: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Boulder Bandshell, food courts, beer gardens open until 10 p.m.) and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday (Bandshell, food courts, beer gardens open until 7 p.m.)

Where:

SATURDAY

Bandshell

Rock & Pop Music Academy

Cosmopolitics

Float Like a Buffalo

Pete Kartsounes Band

Dead Phish Orchestra

Festival Stage

Felonius Smith Trio

Arthur Lee Land Trio

Taarka

Many Mountains

Community Stage

Nederland Mountain Movers

Colorado Conservatory of Dance

Na 'Olapa Mamao E Malama Hula

Mountain Contemporary Dance

High Peaks Twirlers

Blue Moon Dance

Christine Moore and the Figure 8's

Elite Dance

Schiff Dance Collective

Streetside Studio

Tribe Nawaar

McTeggart Irish Dancers

Hamsa Arts

Samba Colorado

Live, Love, Dance

Celtic Steps Irish Dance

Wolchek Academy of Martial Arts

Boulder Taiko Hibiki

SUNDAY

Bandshell

Salute to Veterans Program

Kutandara

Ragged Union

Michael Hornbuckle Band

Onda

Hazel Miller

Festival Stage

Burn it Blue

Glovebox Money

Flash Mountain Flood

Chain Station

Community Stage

Singer Songwriter Competition

• Laurel Butterworth

• Sophie Neuschatz

• Taylor Shae

• Emma Keiren

Battle of the Bands Competition

• Fists of the Proletariat

• Dysfunktion

• The Irrelevance

• The Incredible Descents

• Beyond the Illusion

• Unexcused Absence

• The Beaves

• Below Brooklyn

MONDAY

Bandshell

Teen Stage Battle of the Bands Winner

Space Orphan

Face

Paa Kow

Festival Stage

Rebecca Folsom Acoustic Trio

Bonnie & The Clydes

Lady And The Gentlemen

Community Stage

Kaleidoscope Music/House of Joy

Keaka O Kalani Hula and Polynesian Dance

White Dragon Martial Arts

Kinesis Dance

The Big Noise

El Badree Dance

Shamwari Tamba! and Vana Vedu

SalsaHOOP

A Place to B Studio

Boulder Performing Arts

Hamsa Arts

Mile High Bellydance

Ascential Dance Theater

Kakes Studios

More than a half-million people will be converging in Boulder this weekend.

As in 570,000. (That's four zeros.)

Some will be running. Some will be partying. Many will be dancing. And some will be smooching puppies.

And although Boulder may be channelling its inner Portland with a chance of showers Saturday, Bolder Boulder and the Boulder Creek Festival events have entertainment to sate every thirst.

With the Bolder Boulder 10K on Monday and the Creek Fest Saturday through Monday, Boulder is stuffing its start-of-summer three-day weekend like a Mission-style burrito. All of the good stuff, wrapped up in one Boulder Bubble: world-class athletes, beer gardens, roller coasters, contortionists, live music, belly dancers, bacon, DJs, Elvis, water slides, art, runners, grub, costumed folk, puppy kisses and more.

Party.

That's what Meg Denbow, director of communications for Boulder Creek Fest organizer Boulder Creek Events, says. If there's a time to party in Boulder, the time is this weekend.

"It's such a quintessential Boulder weekend," she said. "We have the Creek Fest, the Bolder Boulder, the Farmers' Market is in full swing — we encourage people who have never been to Boulder to come and visit."

And kiss puppies.

Like Denbow did two years ago with newly adopted Cosmo, visitors can go home with a doggie from the Rocky Mountain Puppy Rescue — which will be on hand, complete with background checks, a kissing booth and fuzzy buddies ready for forever homes (ranging from puppies to older dogs).

Denbow said that the year she met Cosmo, she was feeling the stress of working long hours at the festival.

"I needed to kiss a puppy," she said. "I never had a dog before and when I kissed that puppy, I just knew it had to come home with me."

The Creek Fest, dubbed as the unofficial start to summer, will have three stages of live music and entertainment. Boulder's vocal band, Face, will perform at 3 p.m. Monday at the Boulder Bandshell, and the band's beat boxer and vocalist, Mark Megibow, noting that Face performs 120 shows a year, said the Creek Fest is "one of our favorite shows."

"We look forward to Boulder Creek Fest every single year," Megibow said. "There's always a sea of people having a good time. Even the years with the worst weather always draws crowds. It's summer in Boulder, that's what we do."

Megibow said that when he moved to Boulder more than 20 years ago, the Creek Fest was one of the first events his friends introduced him to.

"The festival is such a Boulder institution, and for Face to be a part it is an honor," said Megibow.

Face, which was originally formed by University of Colorado students and competed on NBC's "The Sing-Off," has been mystifying fans with their vocals for more than a decade.

"It's a combination of speed talking and spitting," Megibow said, laughing, when describing his beat boxing. "Spit is an unfortunate byproduct of the trade. But really, I make drum noises with my mouth, it's hard to describe. Listeners will hear a rock drummer on a stage that has no drums."

It's a melange of covers and originals, all produced by the vocal talents of Ryan Driver, Forest Kelly, Cody Qualls, Stephen Ross and Megibow.

"I like to call it our own brand of upbeat happy rock music," said Megibow.

With this weekend kicking off a slew of summer festivals and outdoor music series, Face is on many bills across the Front Range over the next few months — and most shows are free, Megibow said, which is nice, considering the band consistently sells out local gigs.

And lucky for Boulder County, new music is on the set list.

"We'll be debuting brand new stuff at Creek Fest," Megibow said. "I can't spoil the surprise, but I will say that it is made up of very recognizable pop songs mashed together in a 10-minute medley."

Creek Fest's Denbow said this year is a special one as the festival turns 30. What once was a small parade with a couple vendor booths in the beginning during what was called "I Love Boulder" week, Denbow said more than 450,000 visitors are expected to congregate throughout the holiday weekend.

And although the Boulder Civic Area project somewhat stepped on the flow of the event's space, Denbow said the challenges have been taken in stride.

The three-day festival kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday and runs from Broadway to 14th Street, between Canyon Boulevard and Arapahoe Avenue, and the Boulder High School lawn, which will house teen, children and family activities. (And puppy kisses.) The carnival will be moved to the Boulder Library.

"We just have to work through the challenge of maintaining the popularity and integrity of the festival," Denbow said.

A festival, she said, that is "truly Boulder's own event." Highlighting local companies, two beer gardens will feature beer will be from Upslope, Oskar Blues, Fate Brewing and Oasis, along with local food, art, vendors, music and puppy kisses.

"This event belongs to the community and, as producers, we're all well aware of that and we like to highlight what makes Boulder, Boulder."

The event and music is free with carnival rides and attractions vary in price per vendor.

"My favorite thing about summer in Boulder is probably the same as everybody's: sitting outside in the beautiful weather," Megibow said, fittingly, on the phone from a Starbucks patio. "Festivals gives people an opportunity to go out and hear great live music almost every day of the week for free."

Boulder Bolder entertainment

Start 30th and Walnut: Dave McLoughlin (trumpet call)

Mile 0.1 30th and Pearl: Black & Blues Band (Blues Brothers tribute)

Mile 0.4 30th and Mapleton: Pint & A Half (folk)

Mile 0.5 30th and Bluff: Riley Ann (folk)

Mile 0.6 30th and Valmont: Williams' Brothers Band (jam rock)

Mile 0.7 29th and Valmont: Andy Sydow (rock)

Mile 0.8 2840 28th Street: The Royal Pains (children's band)

Mile 1.1 28th and Pine: Francis & The Wolf (rock)

Mile 1.4 Pine and Folsom: DJ from Eddie Rose Productions

Mile 1.6 Folsom/HillTop: Desert Rain (belly dancers)

Mile 2.0 Folsom and Valmont: Elvis! (impersonator)

Mile 2.4 23rd and Glenwood: Abbie Rooney (aerialist)

Mile 2.9 19th and Glenwood: Anne Feist (storyteller)

Mile 3.0 19th and Floral: Beledi Dance Caravan (belly dancing)

Mile 3.0 19th and Elder: Ms. TuTu (dancing)

Mile 3.8 13th and Balsam: Joe Johnson (folk soloist)

Mile 4.1 13th and North: Zyzzyx Road (classic rock cover band)

Mile 4.2 13th and Portland: Alirio Silva (Brazilian drums)

Mile 4.3 13th and Mapleton: Jake Edwards (singer-songwriter)

Mile 4.5 14th and Spruce: Ginny Mules (bluegrass folk)

Mile 4.6 15th and Pearl: Barking at Dogs (funk rock)

Mile 4.7 17th and Pearl: Confluence Music Group (pop rock)

Mile 5.0 Walnut and 21st: DJ Brandon Copeland

Mile 5.2 Walnut and Folsom: DJ from Beehive Bandwagon

Mile 5.3 1717 Folsom: Carrie Diaz (painter)

Mile 5.4 2525 Arapahoe Ave.: Jacob Larson Band (pop rock)

Mile 5.5 2525 Arapahoe Ave.: Boulder Samba (Brazilian drumming)

Mile 5.5 Folsom and Arapahoe: Tailgater Rockstars (country rock)

Mile 5.9 Folsom and Arapahoe: Centennial Pipe Band (bagpipes)

Finish CU's Folsom Field: Boulder High Pep Band Marching Band

Bolder Boulder

Stephanie Winslow-Sell, the marketing and communications manager for the Memorial Day race, said the registration numbers are trending similar to last year, meaning there will be more than 50,000 participants in the race and more than 70,000 spectators along the sidelines and in Folsom Field at the University of Colorado for the Memorial Day tribute. (That's an extra 120,000. Another four zeros.)

With the Creek Fest down the street, Winslow-Sell described Memorial Day weekend in Boulder as "crazy fun."

While participants run, jog, walk or roll, spectators can expect to see everything from an Elvis impersonator, to marching bands, to belly dancers, to Ms. Tutu, a Bolder Boulder legend who has been entertaining racers since the very first race in 1979, Winslow said.

Winslow-Sell said that since the Boulder Creek Festival decreased its footprint this year, that means the Bolder Boulder area is larger, with vendors sponsors and giveaways at the Sports Exhibit on Pearl Street, which will be open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

New this year, Winslow-Sell said, will be a free Bolder Boulder and Oskar Blues pre-party concert at the Boulder Theater at 8 p.m. Saturday night featuring music from Boulder "boogaloo fusion" band Envy Alo and Bolder Boulder's Battle of the Bands winner, Francis and the Wolf, a rock 'n' roll group from Longmont — with sets from The Sweet Lillies and Boulder Sound Lab, too.

Boulder's burrito is ready to rage. Time to go party with the herd of noisemakers, sprinters, spectators, singers and drink-slingers.

And obviously puppy slobber.

Christy Fantz: 303-473-1107, fantz@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/fantzypants

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