PLAN-Boulder’s 50^th birthday will occur on September 24, 2009, and we will be celebrating with events on Sunday, September 27, Saturday, September 26, and Wednesday, September 23.

The main party will happen on Sunday, September 27. at the Chautauqua Community House, the terrace in front of the Dining Hall, and the big green area in front of the Dining Hall and the Community House starting at 4:00 p.m.. From 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., we will serve wine, beer, and cocktails from a cash bar at the terrace in front of the Dining Hall. From 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 everyone will enjoy a potluck picnic on the big green area, if the weather permits, and in the Community House, if it does not. Please bring a dish to share with the group, and napkins, silverware, drinks and glasses for yourself. At 7:00 we will hear remarks by some of our founding members, followed by a birthday cake and champagne toast of PLAN-Boulder in the Community House.

On Saturday, September 26, PLAN-Boulder treasurer John Spitzer will lead us on the 12^th Annual Tour d’Open Space (originally known as the Circumnavigation of Mountain Parks and Open Space). It will start at 8:30 a.m. at the Dowdy Draw Trailhead near Eldorado Springs. Lunch will be on your own at Chatauqua, and the Tour ends back at Dowdy Draw later in the afternoon.

The Tour was founded by John in 1997 to  help create support for a .33 cent per $10 extension of a sales a use tax to fund a $45 million bond issue to buy open space land. It attracted about 100 participants and included a barbeque lunch and speeches by luminaries at Chatauqua. Since then it has been continued by a handful of die-hards on a much diminished scale in late October every year except 2008. Since PLAN-Boulder has been so closely identified over the years with the City’s Open Space program, we thought it appropriate to reprise the Tour in connection with our Birthday and move it up to the end of September.

The Tour consists of a 38 mile bicycle ride and a 7.5 mile walk in a giant loop around the periphery of the City of Boulder’s open space holdings. It traverses Marshall Mesa, the Flatirons property, Teller Farms, Whiterocks, Gunbarrel Hill, the Boulder Reservoir property, Boulder Valley Ranch, Wonderland Hills, 4^th Street, and a final leg on the Mesa Trail. Bring a mountain bike, water, snacks, sunscreen, and lunch if you don’t want to buy it at Chautauqua. Those who want to do the bike ride only can lock their bikes at Chautauqua and arrange for a car shuttle back to Dowdy Draw.

On Wednesday, September 23, starting at 5:30 p.m. PLAN-Boulder Board members Morgan Rogers and Meagan Davis will host a short hike in the Dakota Ridge/Sanitas area lasting about an hour and then a cocktail party. The event will start and end at the picnic pavilions at the north side of North Boulder Park. All are encouraged to participate, but it will be aimed primarily at younger people who may be unfamiliar with PLAN-Boulder and want to learn more.

 We will host three fora for Boulder City Council candidates on Fridays from noon to 1:30 p.m. on September 4, 11 and 18. Four or five different candidates will participate in each of these events. The first will occur at the upstairs room of Sherpa’s Adventurers Restaurant and Bar at 825 Walnut Street in Boulder. The second and third will occur at the Creekside Room of the Boulder Public Library. Mark them on your calendars. We will also participate with the Indian Peaks Chapter of the Sierra Club, FOBOS, CAN and other environmental groups in a forum for Boulder City Council candidates on the evening of Wednesday, September 16, from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. at the auditorium of the Main Boulder Public Library.