AROUND TOWN: Pair of rodeo events kick up some funds

There were buckles and belts and brass and bolos - and every imaginable shade of pink - as rodeo season got a boot-stompingly grand kickoff.

Rodeo event 1: Blue Jeans & Brass Gala

First up, the inaugural Blue Jeans & Brass Gala, a festive gathering of the folks behind the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Days and those it has supported since 1945: military charities represented by area military brass.

The gala, with the requisite silent and live auctions, was May 9 at Norris-Penrose Event Center, home of the July 8-11 rodeo events.

Event chairman "Pistol Pete" Husak had art and trips and football games to auction off, but this party had some extras you don't find just everywhere. Two people held up their bid paddles for $900 and went home with their own Penrose Stadium chute gates - yes, those things that open and close to let angry bulls out into the rodeo arena.

A smaller version of Hank, the cowboy statue downtown at Tejon Street and Pikes Peak Avenue, will be reading The Gazette in someone's private art exhibit.

Oh, and there was a side of Cage Ranch beef for the freezer.

The successful gala, which raised $60,000, helped raise the bar on the group's community events, rodeo awareness and fundraising, said Rodeo Foundation president Rob Alexander.

Organizing the first fundraiser along with Husak were Theresa Bryan, Heidi Danzig Miller, Cindy Fowler, Gina Kaiser, Paula Kelly, Amy Ochs, Teresa O'Connell, Alisha Scott, Charlie Shea and - yes indeedy it's really his name - Johnny Walker.

Rodeo event 2: Cowgirls and Cocktails

For the second year, the cowgirls and urban cowgirls turned Norris-Penrose Event Center a bright shade of pink.

The June 4 event "for the girls" drew 220 to do some shopping, socializing and noshing, all the while raising more than $13,000 for breast cancer organizations.

The local rodeo arena has been awash in pink since 2005, when Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo was the first to join the Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink program, turning over a portion of the proceeds from a night at the rodeo to a local breast cancer charity.

And it features rough and tough rodeo cowboys proudly sporting pink attire.

Then along came Cowgirls and Cocktails, founded and chaired by Cindy Fowler, Michelle Ebert and Gina Kaiser.

Fowler told the partygoers that last year she was diagnosed with breast cancer. One day in her oncology doctor's office she observed a woman break down in tears, not because she was facing cancer but because she had no ride home. That woman already had enough to worry about, said Fowler, who was determined these types of things shouldn't happen to other women. A new fundraiser was born and three organizations will benefit from this year's event: Renee's Friends Fund, Operation Homefront and Memorial Cancer Center.

Fowler's daughter, Emily, came home two days before her college graduation to share the lively cowgirl festivities with her mother.

Adding a big touch of hilarity to the event were the evening's only males, the pink-aproned bartenders, members of the Rodeo Board and the Rodeo Foundation: Kevin Estrem, Bill Miller, Rick Powell, Pete Husak, Charlie Shea, Mike Jorgensen, Dean Steward, Scott Bryan, Bob Norris and Rob Alexander as well as Bob Roth and Chuck Fowler. At evening's end, and following a little apron-flipping Full-Monty-style frivolity, Husak auctioned off the aprons.

The bartenders were taught three specialty Jim Beam drinks by Shawn Kenyan, vice president of the Colorado Bartending Guild, who was caught laughing as he watched the frenetic, good-natured measuring and pouring activity. The bar was also stocked by Leaping Horse Vineyards and RMC Distributors/Coors.

Feeding the hungry group were Summit Catering, Texas Roadhouse, SouthSide Johnnys, Carrabba's, Patsy's and Shawn's Bakery.

And since shopping and "the girls" are a natural mix, the lines were steady in front of vendors Arbonne, The Burlap Bag, Single Tree Studios, Girl of the Golden West, Mt. Tejon, A Little Ranchy, Out of the Box, Pocket Jewels and Silpada.

Among those putting the evening together were Rosemarie Venezia, Kathleen Venezia, Char Porterfield, Nanette Bever, Audrey Miller, Staci Osgard, Melissa "Missy" Burkett, Charlie and Nancy Shea, Maureen Jorgensen and Spencer Swann.

After all the fun, there was a special moment. "Amazing and so touching" is how Fowler described the 7:45 p.m. balloon lift. This time the sky turned pink as balloons were released carrying personal messages about the fight against cancer.

SAVE THE DATES

2009 Colorado Fatherhood Rally, Be There for Your Kids public-awareness campaign, includes Center on Fathering, Saturday, coloradodads.com to RSVP.

Spring Furniture and Housewares Drive, HUD/VA Subsidized Housing Program and One Nation Walking Together, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, 25 N. Spruce St., clean, usable goods, nonperishable foods, baby formula, disposable diapers and hygiene items, contact Judith Fitzgerald, 238-5667 or Urban Turzi, 329-0251.

Colorado Springs Hospitality Bake Sale, to support Care and Share, sponsored by Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau and other hospitality entities, part of a nationwide event, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 27, Hyatt Place Colorado Springs, 503 W. Garden of the Gods Road. To donate baked goods or volunteer, contact Nicole Barnes, 265-9385, or e-mail nicole.barnes@hyattselect.com.

Third Annual Purely Ponds Parade of Ponds, self-guided, 30 stops, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. June 27-28, to benefit Boys and Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region, $10, contact Chris Oberg, purelyponds@comcast.net or 896-0026, purelyponds.com.

Wine tasting for American Girl Fashion Show to benefit KIDPOWER of Colorado Springs, 6-8 p.m. July 17, moZaic Restaurant at the Inn at Palmer Divide, $35, call 481-1800 or 1-877-684-3466 for reservations.