Biz Buzz:
Tours of Old Town offered
Starting Tuesday, May 31, a new walking tour will be offered twice daily (except Sundays and Mondays) in Old Colorado City.
Titled the “Wild West City Tours,” they will be led by Gerry Murphy, co-owner of CallMurphy Tours, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. They will focus on the area's colorful past, with the main target group being tourists who want to know more about the area they're visiting. The starting point will be the Bancroft Park cabin. Over a leisurely two-hour span, as Murphy described it, walkers will be guided past the Carnegie-built library, shops and historic buildings along the avenue and the sites of two “houses” from Colorado City's long-ago red light district before ending up at the Old Colorado City History Center to look at artifacts and peruse its store with books about the past. “My main thrust is to have fun with them, and if they learn any history, that's good,” Murphy said in a recent interview. The tours are scheduled through the end of October. Before moving to Colorado Springs two years ago, he and his wife Cathy had run a similar type of service in Dubuque, Iowa. Since arriving, they have studied up on this region's history, he said. Tickets are $15 and are requested in advance at 304-1049. Non-profit aids Kenya A non-profit business that will direct earnings toward needful and orphaned children in Kenya expects to open during the coming Territory Days weekend. Karibu African Imports, operated through Chosen Children International (CCI), is at 2616 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 23. The business is run by Marilyn Cohn. The business will sell items made in Africa, including soap, shampoos, herbal products, jewelry and crafts. A Christian organization, CCI is currently focused on building a “Children's Village” in Kenya that will be “a safe haven for the children including schools, housing, clinic and farming,” according to the website, ccikids.org. The number at the store is 634-5437. Art Walk returns June 3 The next First Friday Art Walk in Old Colorado City will be Friday, June 3. Scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m., the free self-guided walk will feature 13 galleries and art-oriented venues along West Colorado Avenue from 24th to 26th streets. Most of the shops will offer a chance to view art displays, to meet artists, to view art demonstrations and/or to hear live music. One of the Art Walk participants, the Arati Gallery, 2425 W. Colorado Ave., will feature acrylics by Gene Johnson, landscapes by Dick Williams, wood art by Frank DiNino and glass pieces by Dee DiNino. New MMJ business in OCC The Hemp Center, selling medical marijuana, recently opened at 2501 W. Colorado Ave. #106. Owned by Jim and Susan Van Diest, the business is open Tuesday through Sunday. The phone is 633-1611; the website is the-hemp-center.com. 'Flea market' outside shop Two Saturdays a month (weather permitting), the Twice Appreciated shop at 3020 W. Colorado Ave. is holding a “mini flea market” in its parking lot. The market is open to vendors and also garage salers, according to mother/daughter owners Sheri and Allison Reichert. The shop itself will be opening up consignment booths, the owners said. Open Monday through Saturday, Twice Appreciated offers a variety of previously owned items, The phone is 392-4340. Editor's note: If you know any Westside locations not listed here, or you find that any of this information has changed, please let us know at 471-6776. |
Westside Pioneer/press release