Egg display helps community, downtown

Ceramic eggs — decorated by everyone from Evergreen artists to children — will be displayed at Evergreen National Bank during April as part of the Downtown Business Association’s second annual egg decorating contest.

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The contest helps the community on many levels, according to Lisa Wood, owner of Go Paint and a member of the Evergreen Downtown Business Association.

First and foremost, the contest gets the community involved with businesses in downtown Evergreen. People have been painting eggs at Go Paint during March, and now they can view their work and the work of others.

Second, the contest is a fund-raiser for the business association, with proceeds going to help pay for the Saturday horse-drawn carriage rides, the December holiday walk and other downtown events.

“There will be a whole lot of eggs at the bank,” Wood said. “I feel like a mother chick.”

Wood has been hosting the egg painters at her store and firing eggs by the dozen in her kiln.

The eggs are categorized into three divisions. Thirty eggs are in the professional artists division. Businesses sponsored the artists with a $50 donation to the association. Those eggs will be up for silent auction at the bank.

There’s still a couple more days left to enter the amateur division, which is for adults or children. The cost to enter is $25. A third division for children has them decorating papier-mache eggs that will also be displayed at the bank. The entry fee is $10.

The eggs also will be judged by area art teachers, with first-, second- and third-place prizes awarded.

It’s a big project that Wood hopes will reap many benefits.

“We’re trying to get the community involved,” she said. “We’re trying to get (people) to remember to support our downtown. It’s very, very important. We’re trying to keep our little downtown alive.”

For information about the contest, visit www.heartofevergreen.com.

Evergreen bridal fair is Sunday

Spring is wedding planning season, and the Evergreen Conference Center is providing one-stop shopping for brides-to-be at the Evergreen Bridal Fair from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 29.

About two dozen vendors — most of them from Evergreen — will be on hand to help brides with everything from flowers to invitations to cakes, according to Candy Porter, the event organizer.

“A bride could make all of her decisions for her big day all in one afternoon,” Porter said.

Even though it’s billed as a bridal fair, people planning large events such as graduation or retirement parties could benefit from meeting the vendors as well.

“I’ve been doing this for about 10 years,” Porter said. “It’s a great way for us to showcase local businesses.”

While Evergreen folks are invited to this free event, it is also being advertised in the Denver metro area to try to attract new business to the area.

“A lot of people love coming up to the mountains and having a mountain wedding,” Porter said. “They can come to Evergreen and have a mountain wedding without going a long way.”

The fair is co-sponsored by In Good Taste Catering. For information, contact Porter at 303-674-3525.

TallGrass plans eco-friendly events

April is Earth Month, and TallGrass Aveda Spa and Salon is digging in by sponsoring several earth-friendly programs.

The spa is participating in Aveda-sponsored programs to help the environment. Aveda is one of the most ecologically conscious companies in the country, according to Gail Ridings, owner of TallGrass.

TallGrass hopes to get the community involved in recycling plastic bottle caps. The spa has gotten Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen involved and hopes to involve other Evergreen schools, too.

“Aveda hopes within a year to be using caps on its products that are made from recycled caps,” Ridings said. Aveda is trying to get a bottle-cap recycling program into schools all over the country.

People can drop off bottle caps for recycling at the spa at any time, she said.

Other earth-friendly plans include raising money for Western Resource Advocates, a nonprofit environmental law and policy organization in the western United States with primary interest in conserving water, energy and land.

TallGrass will sponsor a haircut-a-thon on April 19. All haircuts that day will be $50. Ridings hopes to raise $1,600 with that event.

If you go to TallGrass in April and see employees wearing jeans, you will know that those employees donated $10 each for the jean-wearing privilege. All of that money goes to Western Resource Advocates.

Clients and staff are also encouraged to participate in a program called Steps for Water. The program commemorates that in some areas of the world, women walk an average of 4 miles each day to get clean water for their families. Anyone who donates to the nonprofit organization gets to put a cutout footstep on the water wall.

Staff members will participate in a 4-mile walk on April 6 to raise awareness about water issues and raise money for the organization, and TallGrass is selling lavender candles, with proceeds benefiting Western Resource Advocates.

Shopping for Etcetera clothes is unique experience

“Service” is the key word to describe Etcetera, a clothing line that is sold in a unique manner.

There are no stores, no mail-order option. There’s no mad dash to look at the racks of clothes, either. Women buy the clothes at a two-week sale that happens quarterly.

Instead, the shopping experience is done one-on-one with a consultant. Julie Tadych, an Evergreen consultant, will have her sale April 2-14 in the Marketplace at Bergen Park where Monkeydoodles used to be. Four hundred pieces of clothing will be displayed.

Shopping is done by appointment only.

“The reason people end up buying these clothes is because we fit that person,” Tadych said. “We zero in on the person’s lifestyle. The reason they keep coming back is because of the fit (of the clothes), and the designs are so great. These are things you can’t get in a retail store.”

Etcetera sells dresses, jackets, skirts, slacks, jeans, shorts, belts and scarves. Clothing prices are comparable to Talbot’s or Ann Taylor, with almost everything priced under $200. Jackets run $125 to $150, and pants range from $125 to $185.

In the two-week sale, Tadych expects to meet with 80 to 100 customers from the metro area.

“In these economic times, we are the personal consultants to help expand what people have in their wardrobe,” she said. “We pick pieces with staying power that look great year after year after year.”

Tadych says the experience for the shopper is what makes this unique.

“They have somebody dedicated to caring about their life, their lifestyle, their fashion sense — zeroing in on them and making them feel great,” Tadych said. “This is about building women’s self esteem, make them feel great about themselves.”

To get a peek at the spring and summer collections, visit www.etcetera.com. Make an appointment by calling Tadych at 303-718-3643.

Have tips about businesses in Evergreen? Contact Evergreen resident Deb Hurley Brobst at deb@evergreenco.com.