Whistle Stop Park shells out music and family-friendly enjoyable at sixth annual Lobsterfest

On the afternoon of Saturday, June 6, Niwot’s annual Lobsterfest returned to Whistle Stop Park for a sixth yr underneath a blazing solar and blue skies. This yr’s occasion offered 174 tickets and raised over $16,000 for native charities via the Women’s International Niwot Club (WINC)’s annual distribution.

The 2026 Lobsterfest was organized by Deborah Read Fowler and Linda Klueber and sponsored by WINC and a number of other native companies.

“We are so excited to bring back Niwot’s annual Lobsterfest,” stated Fowler. “The event was an amazing time, lots of different people from around town showed up. I feel it was a massive success.”

Lobsterfest opened at 4 p.m. with a cocktail welcome hour hosted with music by the Boulder Symphony Quartet, which carried out hits from the “Great American Songbook,” akin to “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Danny Boy,” and “Georgia on my Mind.” Guests had been greeted by Fowler and her daughter, Francesca Fowler, in lobster-themed outfits, and loved Cape Codder welcome cocktails.

Over 180 lobsters, flown in from Maine, had been cooked contemporary by volunteers Patrick Sullivan, Nicholas Little, and Oliver and Andrew Fowler. By 5 p.m., the occasion swelled as visitors thronged to the broilers as Klueber punched visitors’ lobster vouchers.

While visitors dined underneath a big tent late into the night, the House Blend Band launched into their set of hits that includes Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Walk Away Renee” by The Left Banke, and “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes.

This yr, some veteran visitors enthusiastically famous that the lobster tasted “better than ever,” whereas newcomers loved the celebrations for the primary time. “I thought it was spectacular,” stated Rob Helgans, from west Longmont. “I grew up in New Jersey, and I have a brother-in-law in Maine. I was brought up on seafood, and I really thought the food here was terrific.”

“Lobsterfest is simply world-class,” stated returning visitor Tony Santelli. “It really felt like it brought Maine to Niwot.”

Tickets for the occasion value $95 for grownup attendees and included a lobster, sides, dessert, and a Cape Codder cocktail for every visitor. A $35 youngsters’s ticket included a smaller meal together with macaroni and cheese, drink, sides, and ice cream from Love Ice Cream. Children additionally took dwelling a Lobster-themed goodie bag that includes a stuffed animal lobster, a necklace, coloring pages, and stickers. Tickets additionally lined the dwell music from the Boulder Symphony Quartet and the House Blend Band, waste administration, beverage stand, and silent public sale.

Like final yr, Fowler famous that in-kind donations and contributions from volunteers had been important to maintain tickets underneath $100 and supply sufficient overhead to realize WINC’s charitable targets. “We’ve got the formula down,” she stated, “[with] local volunteers, local sponsors, and local guests. Niwot really makes this thing run, and we couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out this year.”

At-cost and in-kind contributions for the occasion had been generously donated by Niwot Market, which contributed meals, catering, transportation, waste disposal, and storage; Love Ice Cream, which supplied the kids’s dessert; and Niwot Liquor, which supplied the liquor for the cocktails and stocked the beverage bar.

Proceeds from ticket and concession gross sales will profit a number of native charities via WINC’s 2026-2027 distribution this winter, Fowler stated. Each yr, the membership donates hundreds of {dollars} to native charities and group organizations voted on by members, with previous beneficiaries together with the Niwot High School Education Foundation, Community Food Share, and the OUR Center.

The 2026 Niwot Lobsterfest was sponsored by Stapp Interstate Toyota, TaxWorks Accountants, Inspections Over Coffee, Amanda and John Sessa/SWBC Mortgage, Noblestar Technologies, IOG Bike Fit and Consulting, Niles Family Dentistry, Visual Firepower, Design 4 Living, DRF Real Estate, Edward Jones Financial Advisors, garageUnitz, and Bank of Estes Park. This yr’s occasion was not funded by the Niwot Business Association or Local Improvement District, however as a substitute was hosted and operated by WINC instantly.

Lobsterfest was based by former Niwot enterprise proprietor Diane Atwood. It has supported a number of totally different causes up to now, together with the Boulder Symphony, Marshall Fire victims, Niwot Children’s Park, Niwot Youth Sports growth, and Sculpture Park enhancement initiatives.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming to this lovely, gratifying event,” Klueber stated. “It’s honestly a pleasure to host each year, and we are excited to do it long into the future.”