Boulder Creek Fest a place for 'kids to be kids' and adults to be adults (with brats and beer)

May 24—Most times when one thinks of Boulder — a city named after a rock fragment — they think of, well, rocks, mountains, the Flatirons, and perhaps hiking, biking and rock climbing.

However, the Boulder Creek Fest — the annual welcome summer festival that's held alongside the signature creek that flows through the heart of the city — returns this weekend for its 75th year to remind us that hey, we have water here, too.

Though the creek has received some bad press in recent months (don't dunk your head in to drink the water), the watercourse remains an important facet of the community, and the three-day festival is a good way to celebrate and appreciate the natural beauty that Boulder has to offer.

Creek Fest kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Friday and will bring in more than 30 bands on three stages, a Creekside Beer Fest, live dance performances, stand-up comedy sets, family magic shows, kid activities and more.

Festival organizers have moved away from the event's more traditional carnival-style atmosphere and have expanded its offerings with new activities for families.

"It feels much more homegrown, which has been an intentional choice of the organizers, and with us," said local musician Paige Doughty, one-half of the nature-loving wife-and-husband duo, Jeff & Paige.

The other half, Jeff Kagan, agreed and said that Creek Fest is an especially good time for kids to have a chance to interact with nature.

"Having that natural waterway that kids can play in, and cool off in, and just watch the water flowing in spring — that's what makes this festival so special," Kagan said.

Boulder-based Kagan and Doughty are longtime local superstars on the children's music circuit who specialize in belting out songs about nature, science, ecology and geology. The pair met in graduate school while getting their master's degrees in environmental education. United by a love of nature, they began making music for fun, until one day they found their niche — writing and performing educational tunes for kids.

"Our shows are a mix of songs, but also educational theater, quick costume changes and tons of audience participation," Kagan said. "It's kind of like a nature musical for kids."

In addition to playing two shows at the festival, Jeff & Paige are set to host the event Creekside for Kids at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday on the community stage. The event will kick off with a family-friendly DJ dance party — also known as the Dino Disco, complete with inflatable dinosaurs. More dancing and movement will follow at 11 a.m., when Mimi Ferrie of Amina Arts will take the stage to lead an interactive dance and flow class. The 30-minute session will focus on water movement, inspired by Boulder Creek, and will also include giant parachute games for kids.

Following the dance parties, Jeff & Paige will bring the house down with an hour-long concert at 11:30 a.m. that will include fan favorites "The Bobcat Walk" and "The Opera of Giardia." If audiences are lucky, Jeff & Paige might even perform a couple of new songs from their upcoming album, "Hey, Alice!"

"The big reason behind doing Creekside [for Kids] is to offer something to families at a time before the bigger festival gets kicking," Kagan said. "There's still parking, not a lot of people — space to park, space to move, space to ride your bike downtown, space to explore, space for kids to be kids."

Creekside for Kids will also feature face painting, Lego creators, hamster wheels, family-friendly booths, snacks and snow cones.

For a more robust food offering, guests can look forward to a large selection of food trucks and tents at the wider Boulder Creek Fest, which kicks off at noon.

Angelie Timm and Zdenek Srom, co-owners of the Bohemian Biergarten, are another power couple in the Boulder Creek Fest universe. Together, the pair are behind not one, but two of the food vendors within Creek Fest: the Bohemian Wurst food truck, as well as a food tent within the Creekside Beer Festival, specializing specifically in European-style hot dog sandwiches.

"With the food truck and the tent, as opposed to serving food at the restaurant, it's fun because the energy is so fast-paced, super casual and you get to meet and share food in a different way," Timm said. "It's just a different experience, and super fun. It's exciting."

According to Timm, the food truck will serve Biergarten favorites, such as Polish pierogis, bratwursts with pickled pepper relish and the restaurant's signature giant soft pretzels with beer cheese.

Biergarten's food tent inside of the beer festival, which is a ticketed event within Creek Fest, will feature a Central European-style hot dog served on a baguette, which is internally toasted on a rod. The hot dog is placed within the baguette cavern, along with mustard and ketchup, making a portable snack that not only tastes good but travels well. For those who don't like hot dogs, the tent will also be serving up giant pickles, which are also good on the fly.

The Creekside Beer Festival will taste much like a local beer tour that's all condensed into one convenient creek-side (aptly named) location. More than 20 breweries are participating in this year's festival including Boulder-based Upslope, Avery and Asher Brewing. While the Boulder Creek Festival is free to attend all weekend, the signature beer fest requires a ticket — $30 for an unlimited two-hour beer tasting. (The ticket basically pays for itself, depending on how fast you drink.)

Attendees who are looking for a totally free weekend experience need not fret — the festival will host free concerts from over 30 bands across three different stages. Local favorites such as Megan Burtt, Many Mountains and Flash Mountain Flood are scheduled to play at the festival stage, while bigger acts such as Tenth Mountain Division and Deadphish Orchestra will play at the Boulder Bandshell.

There will be dozens of vendor booths and kids can enjoy games and rides like a bungee trampoline, water-walking balls, an obstacle course, inflatables and more.

To check out the entire lineup of concerts, performances, activities and participating food and beer vendors, visit bouldercreekfest.com.