"I decided to have a time when all the retail stores, restaurants and coffee shops are open so people can travel from place to place and see what everybody has and not feel nervous to walk in, like they have to buy something."
Jane Kincaid said that to NOCO Style in March. She was describing why she started Mingle on Main in 2023, back when the main problem downtown was simple. Visitors kept asking her which shop was across the street, whether there was a coffee shop, and where to eat. She was not thinking about orange fencing on Cleveland Avenue. Her answer still fits this October well, though, because the street's largest annual event is off the calendar this year.
The Wellington Brewfest team paused the 2026 event. They cited the scale of the Cleveland Avenue construction and its effect on access, layout and the guest experience, and they said they hope to return in 2027. So this fall there is no single big downtown day. October is built from smaller events hosted by individual businesses, and most of them fall on two dates.
What the cones look like this week
The project began in late May. Coulson Excavating started with waterline and drainage work, and the plan covers storm drainage, pedestrian safety, ADA upgrades, more parking and better lighting through the historic downtown. The town's latest target for finishing is still late fall or early winter.
The 1st Street and Cleveland Avenue intersection is scheduled to close today, September 30, for several days while crews run storm drain infrastructure across it. The town will announce when it reopens. Crews are also scheduled to begin work in the south side's "amenity zone" the week of September 28. That's the outer strip of sidewalk along the curb. The sidewalk right next to the storefronts is expected to stay mostly open, with some short closures, and the work is expected to last several weeks.
| If you need to... | Use this |
|---|---|
| Cross Cleveland Avenue this week | 3rd or 4th Street, or 6th Street outside the work zone |
| Park near the shops | Between Soul Squared Brewing at 3740 and Rose & Co. at 3734 W. Cleveland Ave. |
| Park on the north side | Between the Larimer County Sheriff's Office at 3735 and North Poudre Irrigation at 3729 W. Cleveland Ave. |
| Find overflow parking | Side streets north of the north alley and south of the south alley |
| Skip the zone entirely | 6th Street north and south; Harrison or Roosevelt Avenue east and west |
The crossings come from the September 30 North Forty News report. The parking spots and detours come from the town's August 28 construction notice, which also says direct access to downtown businesses would not be affected at that stage. The town is also asking everyone, including e-bike and e-scooter riders, to stay out of the work zones and leave the cones and barriers where they are. If a storefront has posted an alternate entrance, use it.
The first weekend groups around one Sunday
The first busy stretch is October 3 and 4, and several of the events are linked to each other.
- Saturday, October 3, 9 a.m. to noon. The Wellington Library Friends hold their Fall Used Book Sale in the library's boardroom and community room.
- Sunday, October 4, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thistle, at 3713 West Cleveland Avenue, hosts its First Sunday Pop N' Shop with a free themed mimosa while you shop.
- Sunday, October 4, noon to 1 p.m. Old Colorado Brewing, at 3700 W. Cleveland Avenue, runs a Sip & Swap. You can bring plants to trade, swap, or buy them. Anyone who contributes a plant gets $1 off a drink, and Holly from Rose & Co. is on hand with plant advice.
The Sunday overlap is easy to miss. The plant swap takes place inside Thistle's four-hour window, and a Rose & Co. staffer is working at the brewery. Three businesses share one hour. That's the same idea behind Mingle on Main, and it happens on a day that isn't officially a Mingle night.
Weeknights run on the breweries' regular schedules
Between the two busy weekends, the regular weekly events at the two downtown breweries keep people coming during construction.
Old Colorado Brewing's October calendar lists Tuesday Trivia at 6:30 p.m. on October 6, 13, 20 and 27. Its Thursdays combine Double Dubs wings with Music Bingo at 6:30 p.m. on October 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. The food trucks change through the month:
- Bite of the Bayou on October 6 and 27
- Dos Medinas on October 10
- Merris Bros. on October 13 and 25
- Marchio's Grill on October 20
Soul Squared Brewing has changed its setup for the construction. Its website says food trucks will park behind the brewery on the patio while the work continues. It also lists Wednesday bingo from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Put together, the two breweries have something going Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday every week this month.
Rose & Co., at 3734, fills in the weekends with paid classes run by other small businesses. On Sunday, October 11, from 2 to 4 p.m., Botanic Attack leads a $45 floral insect frame class. On Saturday, October 17, from 1 to 3 p.m., Glitter Geek Boutique teaches a $49 beginner epoxy tray and keychain class. On Sunday, October 25, from noon to 1 p.m., there's $30 goat yoga, and you can bring your own mat or use one they provide. The class pages list the month and day but not the year. The weekdays match October 2026, so it's a good idea to confirm with the shop before you book.
Friday, October 16 is the night the whole avenue opens together
The Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce lists Mingle on Main on Cleveland Avenue for Friday, October 16, from 4 to 8 p.m., with Kincaid as the contact. Kincaid owns Thru The Paintbrush Art Studio, and she has described how the event works. It runs on the third Friday of every month. She draws a new map of downtown each month showing what's happening that day. Shops run sales, some host DIY projects for adults and kids, and home-based businesses set up pop-ups. At a recent Mingle, many of those pop-ups were in the new salon inside the historic hotel.
She also makes two or three coloring pages each month, and the Chamber, the Wellington Main Streets Program and the town copy them for her. She leaves them, along with crayons, at restaurants, kid-friendly bars and the coffee shop. Soul Squared once put her December pages up on its wall. She joined the Main Streets Program board after volunteering and now serves as its vice president.
That's why the format suits this month. A shopper who walks past fencing and closure signs on the way to one store may not know whether the next door is open. A printed map and shared hours answer that question. The Chamber listing doesn't give a theme or a list of participating shops for October 16. Look for the map at downtown businesses that evening. On a Friday, Old Colorado Brewing's Thursday bingo and Merris Bros. on Tuesday the 13th fall just before and after.
The town is paying people to shop downtown during construction
Two public bodies are backing these business events. The Board of Trustees and the Wellington Main Street Program are running the "Cone Zone Gift Card Giveaway," which gives away $20,000 in gift cards to downtown businesses through 2026. The town newsletter puts individual cards at $25 to $250. You enter once and are automatically included in every monthly drawing from April through December 2026. Each person can win one time. The form asks for your name, phone and email, confirmation that you're 18 or older, and confirmation that you can pick up a card at the Municipal Services Building.
The program is already running. The Town Administrator's July report says Finance staff handed out more than 135 downtown gift cards at the Main Street Market on the 4th of July. If you haven't entered, there are still drawings left before December. A winning card is worth the most when you can use it at one of the October events above.
A few more dates, and one not posted yet
The Wellington Public Library has two more events in the first half of the month. Dungeons & Dragons at the Library runs October 9 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. for upper-elementary kids and older. On October 10, from 1 to 3 p.m., Molly Box of Prairie Sage Creative leads an "Aspens in autumn" alcohol inks class. It costs $20 and requires registration.
Kincaid says the Main Streets Program puts on the trick-or-treat on Main Street. As of today, though, the program's trick-or-treat page still shows the 2024 event, which ran 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Cleveland Avenue. No 2026 date has been posted. With the south sidewalk work expected to last several weeks, check the Main Street Program and the town's construction page for a 2026 date and route before planning a Halloween afternoon downtown. You can send project questions to [email protected].
The Cleveland Avenue project will change how downtown Wellington works once the drainage, lighting and parking are finished. If you have questions about how the new streetscape affects a home or a move in Wellington, The Dennis Schick Team is glad to talk it through over coffee downtown. Contact Us.
