One citizen's view of Longmont, Colorado, USA.
Corrections, rotten tomatoes, recollections, and even nice words can be left as comments, or email to:
longmontian@gmail.com
Another warm day for the Veterans Day Parade which always starts promptly at 11:11 AM.
Longmont High School Trojan Band:
Whoops, stunt driver on a Ural sidecar motorcycle took a tumble. He was ok.
Skyline High School Marching Band:
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Silver Creek High School Marching Band:
Mid-Autumn colors in Longmont are looking good this year, helped by a drier September and October.
Early settlers to the St. Vrain Valley would have only found cottonwoods (plains and narrowleaf varieties) turning yellow, growing along the creeks, much like this view:
Along Left Hand Creek:
Contrasting the ever-present yellow, the Autumn Blaze Maple is popular in Longmont:
In Thompson Park:
Old Town:
Roosevelt Park:
It's only October and many trees are still holding their leaves like this giant Cottonwood in front of Roosevelt Recreation Center:
Back in the 2010's, the Prospect community in Longmont had a popular Monday evening summer concert series in their own park, with favorite local musicians like Hazel Miller and the Face Vocal Band. It was the start of the food truck era, and people could bring their own food/drinks as well.
One of the benefits of the event was drawing people from outside Prospect, to see the small businesses and restaurants that were established there.
Here's a flashback to 2013:
When the series started for the year on May 29, 2017, things got strange. Suddenly no containers of any kind were allowed in, including water bottles, thermoses and coolers. I remember the disappointment and anger that day when people were turned away. It was never made clear why there was an abrupt policy change but I don't remember the series lasting past that year.
The Prospect Eats Monday evening series was quietly brought back this year in 2026. The musician lineups didn't have the big names like ten years ago but it's still a pleasant place to hear live music in Longmont.
A few shots from August 31, 2026:
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Will it be back in 2027?
In the alley behind 504 Main Street, I noticed this "Free Air For Cyclists" sign.
It's left over from High Gear Cyclery bicycle shop which closed 17 years ago, where they kept a floor pump here. Group rides used to start right around the corner.
Here is the same sign from 2009.
Today, it looks to be just a little faded and perhaps more crowded but well protected in the alley from the elements.
I wonder what people think when they see this sign today?
The 39th Longmont Criterium Bicycle Race, officially known as the Andrea Koenig/High Plains Bank Longmont State Championship Criterium returned to Longmont's Thompson Park neighborhood today. "Crits", as they are called, have faced recent difficulties in finding places to race on the Front Range. The long-running and well-known Twilight Criterium in Littleton ended their Saturday night race last year and yesterday's August 22 Niwot Criterium was cancelled just a few days before the event. Both towns cited disruption to their communities as the reason. As a result, crits often get relegated to drab and empty office parks on evenings and weekends.
Thankfully, Old Town Longmont continues to embrace this event and many riders say it is their favorite course in Colorado, among the trees, wide streets, and crowds. You can see the neighbors having watch parties along the course and many locals bring out their lawn chairs to see the action.
After a 25 minute lightning and rain delay, the women's top riders got underway:
Riders are doing a constant ~30 mph on this course:
Hope this event continues to return to Longmont.
