It’s a fall Festivus for the west of us!
On Saturday, Sept. 21, the Organization of Westside Neighbors (OWN) will be hosting its annual WestFest community picnic at the Westside Community Center (WCC) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The occasion will be an opportunity to meet neighbors and engage with organizations that help shape the local community.
Festivities will include live music from Jeremiah Erikson, Donny Coram, and Black Rose Acoustic Society. There will be food for purchase courtesy of Old Colorado City restaurants Front Range Barbeque and Paravicini’s Italian Bistro. Picnic lunches will be available for purchase which will include brats, hot dogs, and sides as well as vegetarian and gluten-free options. Attendees can bring their own food as well and are also encouraged to bring a dish to share for the dessert potluck.
There will be a silent auction featuring items donated by local businesses. In addition, there will be yard games including corn hole and ladder toss, along with other family-friendly activities like Yoga on the Grass taught by Brooke Sakharia.
Sakharia is the owner and instructor of Modern Yoga Colorado. A Pleasant Valley resident, she moved here from Arizona five years ago. An instructor for eleven years, her functional mobility yoga practice focuses on sustainability, longevity, and strengthening of the human body. Her studio is housed in the Westside Community Center.
“The fact that the building is such an amazing, old historical building I thought, ‘what a better place to put something that focuses on sustainability,'” she said.
Sakharia taught an indoor yoga class at last year’s WestFest and is excited to have this year’s event outside, free of charge. She will have mats and foam blocks for use, but participants are free to bring their own as well. Starting at 11 a.m., the one-hour class will be open to both adults and children, something that Sakharia relishes.
“I love meeting people who are very much part of the neighborhood from almost the very beginning. They’ve lived there since the 50s-60s … and meeting all the new families that are coming in. It’s such a beautiful blend that when I’m teaching functional based yoga, their grandchild and their grandma and their mom and dad can do it … I literally have three generations all doing something to help them feel better in their bodies,” she explained.
For Sakharia, her involvement in WestFest is not only a chance to share a passion, but to bring people together.
“We learn to breathe and share our positive energy with the entire community and our families around us. Coming and joining WestFest will allow us to bring a vibrancy to the community and I look forward to doing it,” she said.
Other local businesses and organizations who will be represented include, among others, Cerberus Brewing, CSU Extension, the Coronado Robotics Team, the Colorado Springs Fire Department, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Pikes Peak Library District, Self Care Arts, Westside Stories Bookstore, United Hearts Community School, Ruth Washburn Cooperative Nursery School, and Funky Little Theatre Company.
According to OWN board president Justin Trudeau, last year’s event attracted over 300 people. Originally from the Kansas City area, Trudeau has been a Westside resident for 20 years and works as an insurance adjuster. To him, events like WestFest excite him because they help strengthen the bonds of the local community, which builds resiliency to address the problems that each community faces.
“We want people to know their neighbors. An interconnected neighborhood is a stronger neighborhood,” he said, “The Westside community feels like a small town within a big town and the more you know your neighbors, the more it feels that way.”
Free parking will be available in the community center parking lot at 1628 W. Bijou St.
Meal prices will be $8.00 per adult and $5.00 for children 12 and under. Event proceeds will go to supporting the non-profit mission of OWN. For inquiries about becoming a vendor or donating to the silent auction, please contact Justin Trudeau at justin@own-cos.org.