DISPATCH #8 · TUE, AUGUST 4, 2026 · NoCo · TUE HIGH 81°
Postcard from NoCo
Hi NoCo families. Summer is running its series finales this week, and it picked a good sendoff: Thursday night the Winona pool turns down the lights for a glow swim, then Loveland spends the weekend as one big art show. Two thousand sculptures, 250 artist booths, and kids 14 and under get in free. Oh, the places you'll actually go.
JP & Alexis
Where To This Week
THIS WEEK
Summer's encore week: the concert series and the fair all play their final nights, Thursday glows and foams, and the Weekend of Art takes over Loveland Saturday and Sunday with Poudre RiverFest next door.
The Weekend of Art takes over Loveland — FREE · $10 adults, kids 14 and under FREE
Sat 8/8 and Sun 8/9 · Art in the Park: Sat 10am to 5pm, Sun 10am to 4pm, North Lake Park · Sculpture in the Park: Sat 9:30am to 5pm, Sun 9:30am to 4:30pm, Benson Sculpture Garden
The two shows that earn Loveland its art-town reputation, across the street from each other on the same weekend. Art in the Park is Colorado's longest running artisan festival, 59 years in, with about 250 booths and free shuttles from the parking lots. Sculpture in the Park is billed as the largest outdoor juried sculpture show in the country: 160 artists, more than 2,000 pieces, and a kid discovering that bronze bears are cooler than screens. Art in the Park → · Sculpture show →
The fair's actual last lap — FREE
Tue 8/4 · 4pm to 10pm · The Ranch, Loveland
The Larimer County Fair closes tonight: one more evening of free admission, free parking, the carnival midway, and the 4-H barns. The PRCA rodeo also runs its final performance at 7pm in Blue Arena (that one's ticketed, via AXS). Last chance to add your family's artifact to the Colorado Capsule before it disappears until 2076. Fair → · Rodeo →
Zootopia 2 plays twice this week — FREE
Tue 8/4, 8pm at Boardwalk Park, Windsor · Fri 8/7, sundown at WildWing Park, Timnath
One movie, two lawns, zero dollars. Windsor screens it tonight at Boardwalk Park, and Timnath runs it Friday at WildWing with face painting, yard games, and dessert trucks (Island Smoothie and Mary's Mountain Cookies) before the show. Miss one, catch the other. Windsor → · Timnath →
National Night Out, two nights running — FREE
Tue 8/4 · 4pm to 7pm · Berthoud Town Park & Wed 8/5 · 4:30pm to 7:30pm · Blue Spruce Park, Severance
The nationwide meet-your-first-responders night, done two ways. Berthoud goes Tuesday with sheriff and fire vehicles to climb through, an inflatable obstacle course, a petting zoo, and free hot dogs for the first 500. Severance takes its turn Wednesday evening with its own police department hosting at Blue Spruce Park. Berthoud → · Severance →
Inflatables in the courtyard at The Exchange — FREE
Tue 8/4 · 3pm to 9pm · The Exchange, 200 N College Ave, Fort Collins
Family Fun Tuesdays run through August 18: rotating inflatables and games in the courtyard, with the Exchange's food and drink windows right there. The rare downtown stop where the kids burn energy and dinner is a ten foot walk. Details →
Kids on the Plaza says goodbye, then the plaza turns up — FREE
Wed 8/5 · Kids on the Plaza 12pm to 2pm, plaza opens 6pm, music 6:30pm · The Foundry, downtown Loveland
The season's final Kids on the Plaza goes out big: a UNC science demo, a DJ Brandon dance party, lawn games, crafts, and the splash pad. Come back at 6:30 when Gasoline Lollipops plug in for the One Sweet Summer concert, kids zone running the whole time. Kids on the Plaza → · Concert →
Blend your own tea at Orion's Apothecary — $20 per child, tickets required
Wed 8/5 · 2:30pm · Orion's Apothecary, 270 E 29th St, Loveland
Kids build their own herbal tea blend from the dried-herb wall: smelling, tasting, and deciding like tiny apothecaries. An adult sticks around for the class, and the blend goes home with them. The shop flags it as filling fast. Details →
Storytime in the gardens — FREE
Wed 8/5 · 2pm to 2:30pm · Gardens on Spring Creek, Fort Collins
The Poudre River library takes storytime outside, and the Gardens covers admission for up to 75 people. Built for ages 0 to 6: books, songs, and a garden to wander after. Details →
Popsicles in the Park at Beattie Elementary — FREE
Wed 8/5 · 6pm to 7:30pm · Beattie Elementary playground, 3000 Meadowlark Ave, Fort Collins
Fort Collins Parks and Rec kicks off the back-to-school season the right way: playground time, frozen treats, and a first look at the fall activity lineup. Low effort, high popsicle. Details →
GLOW swim night at the Winona pool — FREE under 2 · $5 to $7 by age
Thu 8/6 · 8pm to 10pm · Winona Outdoor Pool, Osborn Park, Loveland
The pool stays open past bedtime, turns the music up, and hands out glow sticks while they last. Second and final glow night of the summer, concessions open, spectators $3.50. The rare event where "swim under the stars" is the literal description. Details →
A foam party at the Greeley library — FREE
Thu 8/6 · 5:30pm to 6:30pm · Farr Meeting Room, Farr Regional Library, Greeley
The library ends its summer with a giant dance party, a bubblebath playground, and snow cones. Swimsuits and towels are, in the library's own words, highly recommended. No registration, just show up sudsable. Details →
Magic night opens at The Exchange — FREE
Thu 8/6 · 7:30pm to 9:30pm · The Exchange, 200 N College Ave, Fort Collins
Tricky Thursdays start tonight: magician Dan Jasperson works the courtyard with sleight of hand and crowd-favorite tricks, Thursdays through September 3. Little Man ice cream is steps away, which is its own kind of magic. Details →
Windsor's boardwalk plays its finale — FREE
Thu 8/6 · 6:30pm to 8:30pm · Boardwalk Community Park, Windsor
The Thursday concert series closes its season with Ninety2k, food trucks on site, lake behind the stage. If your kids spent the summer dancing barefoot at Boardwalk Park, this is the night to let them do it once more. Details →
A movie under the Berthoud sky — FREE
Thu 8/6 · dusk · Fickel Park, Berthoud
The last night of Berthoud Main Street's summer movie series. Blankets, chairs, and a picnic dinner welcome; the title lands on their Facebook closer to the night. Details →
Back-to-School Readiness Day — FREE
Thu 8/6 · 5:30pm · Tutoring Excellence of Loveland, E 29th St, Loveland
A free school-year warmup for K-12: a 15-minute reading or math check, parent tips from the tutors, prize drawings, and free school supplies while they last, one per student. Bring a friend and you're both in the drawing. Details →
THIS WEEKEND
Friday is rivers, reggae, and two First Friday art walks; Saturday stacks the Weekend of Art, Poudre RiverFest, and Bug Day; Sunday opens with K-Pop and closes with marshmallows.
Wade the Poudre with a net — FREE
Fri 8/7 · 9:30am to 12pm · Lee Martinez Park, Fort Collins
The city's Natural Areas crew hands your kids dip nets and collecting trays and lets them hunt the river for whatever wiggles, with biologists on hand to name the catch. All ages. Registration is suggested rather than required, but last year's session had a waitlist, so claim a spot early. Details →
First Friday, in stereo — FREE
Fri 8/7 · Greeley 5pm to 8pm · Fort Collins 6pm to 9pm
Both downtowns run their First Friday art walks the night before Loveland's big art weekend, which makes this an accidental three-town art festival. Greeley's businesses host creative activations and installations from 5; Fort Collins runs its self-guided tour through 40+ galleries, museums, and shops from 6. Free, stroller-paced, leave when the kids fade. Greeley → · Fort Collins →
Berthoud's End of Summer Bash — FREE
Fri 8/7 · 6pm to 8pm · Berthoud Rec Center at Waggener Farm Park
Berthoud closes its summer with live music, local eats, and a lawn full of neighbors. Bring chairs and an appetite; the rec center brings the rest. Details →
Friday Fest goes reggae for the finale — FREE
Fri 8/7 · 6pm to 10pm · 9th St Plaza, downtown Greeley
Greeley's plaza party closes its season as Reggae Fest with The Mash Up, plus the series regulars: balloon artists, stilt walkers, face painters. Standing honest note: it's a go-cup district, so take the kids early and hand the late shift to the college crowd. Details →
Music on the Lawn: Cactus Cat — FREE
Fri 8/7 · 6pm to 8pm · East Lawn at Foothills, Fort Collins
Cactus Cat takes the East Lawn with the vendor market alongside, and this week the kids zone is run by the Toy, Game & Puzzle Library, which is exactly what it sounds like. Fridays here run through the end of August. Details →
A mom's morning at Jessup Farm — Cost varies
Sat 8/8 · 9am to 12pm · Jessup Farm Artisan Village, Fort Collins
One for the grown-ups: Girls' Saturday Morning Out fills the Artisan Village with market shopping, wellness activities, and an outdoor fitness class (pilates, yoga, bootcamp, or spin, depending on the week). Trade kid duty with someone and go. Details →
Poudre RiverFest — FREE
Sat 8/8 · 11am to 5pm · New Belgium Brewing, 500 Linden St, Fort Collins
A whole festival about the river your kids will wade in the day before: 65+ exhibitor booths, hands-on river education, free yoga and painting classes, food trucks, and live music from Cary Morin Duo, Antonio Lopez, Desiderata, and Slow Caves. It's hosted on New Belgium's grounds, so there's beer for the tall people; the programming is squarely for the small ones. Details →
Bug Day at Bath Garden Center — FREE
Sat 8/8 · 10am to 12pm · Bath Garden Center & Nursery, 2000 E Prospect Rd, Fort Collins
Two hours of insects with people who actually study them: CSU and NoCo Wildlife experts, a Bring Your Coolest Bug contest with prizes, mask making, face painting, and a group ladybug release at noon. If your kid keeps things in jars, this is their Super Bowl. Details →
Time travel is free in Greeley this weekend — FREE
Sat 8/8 and Sun 8/9 · 9am to 3pm · Centennial Village Museum, Greeley
The living history museum runs another free 50th-anniversary weekend, this one themed Celebrations and Parties: cultural crafts, historic cooking demos, butter churning, and wool carding. Your kids will not believe butter used to be a chore. Details →
A K-Pop dance party built for kids — Tickets required
Sun 8/9 · doors 10:30am, show 11am · Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins
GOLDEN turns the Aggie into an all-ages morning dance floor: K-Pop hits, movie soundtrack remixes, and pop anthems, costumes encouraged. A real venue show that's over before nap time. Details →
Make marshmallows from scratch — $20 per child, tickets required
Sun 8/9 · 3pm · Orion's Apothecary, 270 E 29th St, Loveland
The weekend's sweetest exit: kids learn to make marshmallows the traditional way and carry a bag of them home. An adult comes along; the sugar high is included in the price. Details →
NoCo Regulars
Markets and story times you can count on: Larimer County Farmers' Market (Sat, Old Town Fort Collins) · Greeley Farmers' Market (Sat, 7th St) · The Berthoud Market (Sat, Town Park) · Windsor Farmers Market (Sat, Boardwalk Park) · Loveland Farmers' Market (Sun) · Fort Collins Farmers' Market (Sun & Wed) · FoCo Food Truck Rally (Tue evenings, City Park) · plus library story times in every town.
Local Business Spotlight: Dark Heart Coffee Bar
Dark Heart Coffee Bar, Loveland @darkheartcoffeebar
Coffee tour stop 8 lives at 419 N Jefferson Ave, a few blocks from this weekend's sculpture show. Dark Heart started as a hand-built coffee cart rolling around downtown Loveland in 2015 and put down roots on Jefferson in 2017. They roast their own, sourced from farms held to organic standards, and pour it in a space with a pastry case and room to land the crew. Open every day: 7am to 4pm weekdays, 8am to 4pm weekends. We stopped in ourselves before it made the tour; that's how every stop earns the list.
Community Corner
The first school bells ring in about a week, which makes this the official last-hurrah stretch. So tell us: what's the one thing your family has to do before summer clocks out? A last glow swim, one more snow cone, a specific splash pad victory lap? Hit reply; best answers might make a future dispatch.
Coffee tour update: stop 8 kept us in Loveland one more week. Wellington, you're still on deck, and the nomination box is open: reply with the shop we shouldn't miss.
Got a family event on your radar? Add it at theplacesno.co/submit-event and it might land in an upcoming dispatch.
That's the week, NoCo. Whether you're fishing glow sticks out of the deep end Thursday, wading the Poudre with a net Friday, or pulling a wagon past two thousand sculptures on Sunday, we hope it's a great one. Know a parent convinced August is the boring month? Forward this and ruin that theory.
Be the parent who somehow always knows about this stuff.
JP & Alexis
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