Glimpses of Greeley

            Covering Greeley businesses has allowed me to write several pieces about individual businesses as well as a piece about the Greeley area as a whole.

            I started out covering the creation of the creative district downtown. I found out that Greeley is combining districts and getting more funding to improve Greeley. I really liked writing this story because it allowed me to get a broad picture of my beat. I would like to do a follow up story to tell about the new district's most recent news. 

            After writing a general story, I was able to focus on a specific business, Batter Up Cakes, by writing a day-in-the-life story about the business and the owners. This story was a neat way to get the inside scoop about a new bakery in Greeley. I was able to see how much time and hard work goes into creating a new business by spending a good amount of time at the location. This story was published this week in The Mirror, UNC's newspaper.

          Most recently, my beat took me to Café Panache, which is another business downtown that just opened. Having a video assignment that goes along with this profile story has enabled me to shoot fun footage about making crepes. I plan to focus on the owner for the video and the actual business for the written story. I wish I knew more about France because I would be able to recognize more of the French themes throughout the café. 

            The last piece I will write for my beat will be an opinion column. I am excited to write a story with my voice. This piece will allow me to combine my observations from covering Greeley businesses throughout the semester to give readers a better picture of downtown. 

Creative Happenings on Fridays

It sounds almost dreamlike for Greeley residents to stroll around downtown galleries looking at local art. The Greeley Downtown Development Association started organizing a night like this years ago. It began with just a few businesses and local art, but now it has evolved to a variety of businesses doing poetry slams, concerts and art.

Administrative assistant for the DDA, Mandi Huston, said that 12 to15 businesses downtown partake in First Friday, A Night of Art. Once a month, participating businesses come together to promote the art and entertainment of Greeley typically from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“It’s a night that allows for businesses to stay open longer to catch the late night crowd,” said executive director of the Greeley DDA Pam Bricker.

Some of the artwork showcased tomorrow will even permanently be a part of a business; adding to the French ambience of Café Panache, two local artists added graffiti artwork found commonly at the Paris Metro to the hallway leading to the bathrooms.

With so many participants spread across Greeley, the event targets a variety of demographics. Tomorrow night there will be photography at the Atlas Theater, jazz and paintings at Café Panache, rugs at Doug’s Hang Up, glass art at The Dragon’s Cache and textile handicrafts at the Unitarian Universalist Church.

“I like the Bean Plant Studio for the interesting and eclectic array of excellent and affordable art against a backdrop of beautiful old wood and brick. I am usually greeted with a cup of tea and time to soak it all in,” said councilmember Donna Sapienza.

Huston also said that in the future the DDA plans on creating a map of all the participating businesses each month to make it easier for residents to enjoy the artistic expressions of downtown.