Big town energy, small town vibes

Inaugural Weimar ‘Rock the Block’ event takes over downtown

The Weimar Chamber of Commerce’s first inaugural “Rock the Block” event saw the streets of downtown Weimar flooded with people from all over Colorado County and beyond this past Friday, Sept. 27.

From 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Post Office St, located in the heart of downtown Weimar, was transformed into an entertainment haven, with no shortage of things to do for all ages.

Attendees had plenty to engage in throughout the night, with live music by the Samy Jo Band, food, vendors, yard games, unique treasures and smores around the fire pit, all for their enjoyment.

Weimar Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tiffany Hougardy, who recently took the position early in the year in June, was ecstatic over the success of the first ever edition of the event and hopes to carry on the success from the event to the next version and other events as well.

“The turnout was fantastic,” said Hougardy. “Seeing all these people come out to enjoy a beautiful evening in Weimar, shopping in Weimar and enjoying all we have to offer, it is just great.”

Brianna Rhodes, a lifelong native of Weimar, attended the event amongst many others, emphasizing how the inaugural event was already one of the biggest events she had ever seen in Weimar.

Rhodes, who works in marketing herself, echoed Hougardy’s sentiment, highlighting how the event is good for business in Weimar.

“It is one of the biggest events I have ever seen in Weimar,” said Rhodes. “I am having a great time enjoying everything there is to offer, and I think it is a great way of bringing business to Weimar and supporting all our local businesses and everything they have to offer. I think this is a great event and I am looking forward to more in the future.”

One of the vendors at the event, Shelly Munsch, another lifelong Weimar resident, was overwhelmed in a good way by the traffic at the event, given that it was her first time setting up a booth and table as a physical vendor. Munsch hopes that the chamber can continue to constantly put on events just like this one.

“I usually only sell my stuff on Facebook,” said Munsch. “This was my first time having a booth anywhere, so it was a trial for me. I am pleasantly surprised. I met a lot of people, new faces. I am super happy; they picked a great day with great weather. I hope they keep it up and do something like this maybe every other month.”

Mayor Milton Koller says the last time in his recent memory that Weimar had an event as large as Rock the Block was back when he was a kid, watching turtle races through the streets of downtown Weimar. Koller says it is great for the community to have large turnouts at events like this, perhaps a sign to come of the impending growth headed towards Weimar.

“It is important especially with the growth coming to embrace events like this,” said Koller. “It drives a lot of business to the streets and gets a lot of the community involved. All in all, it is a win for the city of Weimar.”