Programs for youth..everywhere

Youth on Record (YOR) recognizes that education alone can not solve systemic injustice, nor can it alone liberate youth. Art is a powerful tool, but it also cannot bear the sole responsibility of creating more equitable communities. Still, education and art, when integrated under the right framework, are powerful tools for liberation and equity.

The Lilac Hour in Fort Collins

Zoe Berman grew up in Simsbury, Conn., but calls Denver home. Zoe is a singer-songwriter who plays a mix of soul, jazz, and Americana music. Zoe wrote her new release, “Lilac Hour,” on a bike ride through the foothills (over by Reservoir Ridge) when she lived in Fort Collins.

This song will ultimately be part of a seven-song EP released in 2021 entitled “Freezing Heat,” a project Zoe is working on at Third & James Studios in Denver.

Start Where You Stand, Support The Cultural Enrichment Center

Jamal Skinner, founder and Executive Director of FoCo Cultural Enrichment Center asks, “Initially, I challenge the community. 170,000 people are living in this community. Probably point zero-zero-2% of that are Black teenagers. So my idea is, can we find 1% of 170,000 people who are willing to contribute $5 a month?”

Stand like an Oak with Compassion and Strength

“Music can be a great equalizer…. bringing folks together across the boundaries of country, language, ideals, religions, rage, gender, politics, and everything else that can separate us. I believe, and have felt in the music that I love, a deepening of my own spirit when in musical spaces. A certain levity as well. Some could call it spiritual. Others may call it celebratory. Either way, art calls us into a very sacred space… outside of our heads and our to do lists. From that space, so many things can be built and reimagined. We need artists at the table of policy and design and education. Artists bring the charisma and magnetism that the world is drawn to. Without that, where is the intrigue?”

Find your pathway with a pilot at FoCo StartUp/ArtUp week

Emily Satterlee is Founder of ItyDity, a one-of-a-kind Songboard™ technology. Emily is adding to her technology portfolio, by Co-Founding Pathway Pilot, with the first launch at Fort Collins Startup Week kick-off in a keynote. Attendees can download the Pathway Pilot beta to curate a relevant, unique, conference schedule.

Monday Montage

There is never a shortage of things to do in FoCo. Want to discover a new band or explore the creative nightlife this week? Here are the top picks that will inspire you and maybe make you dance a little.

Open Beats in the Streets of Fort Collins

Create Places, an artist-organized economic and workforce development nonprofit, is hosting Open Beats on September 17, 2017, from 11:00am-2:00 pm. The event is held at the Overland Park shade shelter in Fort Collins, CO. Local electronic artist Full Metal, Kind Dub and Two Scoops will be on hand to guide the crowd through an ultimate digital music experience.

Create Places First Friday Creative Relief Fund

On First Friday, 9/1/2017, Create Places of Fort Collins is launching a call for donations. Any musician or artist that donates portions of their sales to the relief efforts of Harvey Hurricane in Houston will be matched dollar for dollar for up to $1000. The donations can be in the form of ticket sales, merch sales, fundraiser shows or any profitable contribution. This initiative encourages local grassroots philanthropy from artist and creatives in Fort Collins.

Fort Collins is the Startup City Built on Rock-n-Roll

Fort Collins, Colorado is a collaborative, non-competitive, startup music city without a big ego. Fort Collins is a city built for musicians by musicians. For over ten years, musicians laid the groundwork for the next golden era of “musicprenuers“ by constructing an ecosystem built on encouragement, support, and empowerment. This shifts the paradigm and disrupts the music industry systems of the past.

Fort Collins Gypsy Swing Band Release Craft Beer

The Happy Dapples is an eclectic group of musicians from Fort Collins that play Gypsy Swing. This Saturday they celebrated their beer release of Hoppy Dopple with Equinox Brewing in Fort Collins.

The beer has been on tap at Equinox since November of 2016. Oskar Arevalo, singer and guitar player of the Dapples, had an interest in brewing the beer. He was a chef at Fish restaurant in Fort Collins and spent many days doing beer pairing dinners. He wanted to merge his culinary talents with his musical ones.