By Maria Sanchez-Traynor
Camera Staff Writer

From tango dancers to Magical Ju-Ju Goddesses, the Boulder Creek Festival has a little something for nearly everyone.

Organizers of the annual three-day event in its 15th year expect it to draw 150,000 visitors by the time it closes Monday evening. The festival spreads along Boulder Creek from Ninth Street to 14th Street between Arapahoe Avenue and Canyon Boulevard.

"This is a great kickoff to the summer," said Elizabeth Harnisch, a vendor from Evergreen who was selling drums and blankets and creating henna body art at her booth Saturday.

The festival is divided into several different areas including an artists' marketplace, a kids' place and Earthkeeping, which introduces new developments in environmental-friendly products. Along with the different sections of the festival, five entertainment venues include a Community Dance Stage and a stage for Boulder teens to show off their talents.

One of today's festival highlights is a pancake breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. on the festival stage near the Boulder Public Library.

Artists and vendors fill the festival ground, selling wares from handmade rocking chairs to wind chimes.

Elise Crohn is a Boulder artisan at the festival. She signed up for a booth before she got the idea to make decorated cloth dolls she calls Magical Ju-Ju Goddesses.

"It was an 11th-hour idea," Crohn said. She said she got the idea from seeing a voodoo doll. Each of the goddesses come with a card explaining one of several "spells," such as those for love and empowerment.

Other festival vendors sell a variety of foods, including goat cheese and gyros.

"The best part about the festival is the food," said Dorothy Teegarden, who has lived in Boulder since 1945 and has attended the festival with her husband, Doc Teegarden, since its first year.

At the entertainment stages, community members watched performers or got into the act themselves.

"It was a lot of fun," said Jim Harrington, a Boulder resident who was dancing on the Community Dance Stage to African drumming by Bantaba World Dance and Music. "The group is great. They bring a lot of talent to this community."

Also located throughout the event are several sign-up booths for Monday's Great Rubber Duck Race, offering a grand prize of $2,000 in travel vouchers. The ducks, which are sold for $5 each to benefit disabled residents, will start at the bridge over Boulder Creek at Ninth Street on Monday at 4 p.m. The number of ducks available is limited, and they are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

For a full list of today's events check out the festival's Web site at www.bouldercreekevents.com/festival.

May 26, 2002

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