Foundation goal: better Bancroft restrooms

       With a goal to provide better public restrooms in Bancroft Park, the nonprofit Old Colorado City Foundation (OCCF) has raised nearly $30,000 since forming in the fall of 2012.

In a shot taken from the side of the stage, attendees enjoy the second annual Taste of OCC in Bancroft Park April 27. The weather was a bit on the breezy and cool side -- note the tablecloths flapping and the jackets most people are wearing.
Westside Pioneer photo

       The estimated cost is $150,000 for facilities that are above-ground, handicapped-accessible and built into the back of the Bancroft bandshell, according to Dave Van Ness, OCCF founder and also executive director of the Old Colorado City Associates (OCCA) business group.
       To approach that total, the foundation plans to keep holding twice-a-year fund-raisers and to use the income as matching funds for grant applications, he said.
       Improved restrooms were a consensus of the local business and neighborhood leaders who make up the OCCF board. Currently, when visitors arrive in Old Colorado City (including at a designated bus pullout next to the park on 24th Street), the historic shopping district has no public restrooms to send people to, OCCF members have pointed out.

Two of the seven participating open-air artists at work during the event -- Squiggz, of Steadfast Tattoo (front right) and Sheary Clough Suiter (standing, in orange cloth hat and blue gloves) of 45 Degree.
Westside Pioneer photo

       In the meantime, to show progress this summer, the foundation is contracting with the Concrete Couch, a local arts organization, on an interactive project to attach decorative ceramic tiles around the bases of the four light posts in the middle of the park.
       The most recent OCCF fundraising event was the second annual Taste of OCC April 29, which netted $7,500, Van Ness said. Attendees, who paid $30 to $35 a ticket, got to sample donated food and drink at booths that had been set up in the park by local restaurants and beverage makers or distributors. Also, a live band performed and several artists painted original works that were sold at the end of the day as part of the fundraising.
       A similar OCCF event last September was Harvest in the Park (which also featured a local chefs' “cook-off”). The second annual “Harvest” is planned Sept. 28.

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