Downtown Boulder Creek is steadily becoming more friendly, thanks to efforts from merchants along Highway 9.
A group of merchants have launched a “CANpaign” to light up the town — essentially, a fundraiser to repair and relight the white LED lights that used to hang from the roofs and façades of the businesses through downtown Boulder Creek.
“These lights were actually in place many moons ago, but they’ve burnt out,” said Karen Mayer, the owner of Massage of Boulder Creek.
Mayer is a member of a Boulder Creek merchants committee that has met informally to discuss how to rejuvenate the downtown area.
The cost to replace and install all the lights is $15,000, Mayer said, and the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters collected via the CANpaign will go toward that cost. Then, if all goes well, future donations will pay for solar power to provide energy for the lights.
“The big goal is to get the town lit up and sustained using solar technology,” said Mindy Heath, the production supervisor at Sincerely Yours. “Wouldn’t it be great to be the first green certified city in California?”
Heath has provided some graphic design work to prepare for the collection drive, and the business created a calendar called “On the Streets in Boulder Creek” to inform locals of the goings-on in town. The CANpaign will kick off in the next week or so with cans placed on business counters throughout Boulder Creek.
On Halloween — typically the largest celebration in town, along with the Fourth of July parade — there will be “Cauldrons on the Corner” to collect cash as part of the lighting effort, Mayer said. To track progress, she said, the group hopes to place a visual thermometer with dollar amounts at the corner of highways 9 and 236.
Mayer said she’s excited to see banners flying across Highway 9 for the first time in six years. She added that the downtown merchants’ collaboration with the Boulder Creek Business Association for a town beautification project drew about 30 volunteers.
The Santa Cruz Mountain Harvest Festival over the weekend attracted a crowd to the downtown, and many storefronts have been repainted or spruced up with new planters.
Heath is excited about the recent development.
“You can feel the buzz,” she said. “Merchants are really working together to make it a better place.”
For information: Karen Mayer, ka***********@co*****.net.
