New Year’s resolutions don’t have to mean a total life overhaul. They can also be a way to explore your creative side, discover passions and develop skills—just for the fun of it.
Northern Colorado is filled with affordable, accessible opportunities to try something new. From podcasting to Japanese cooking, dog training and lifesaving first aid, these community programs make learning approachable for every age group.
A woodworker using a lathe in LINC Library’s woodshop. Photo by Ben Bradley Photography.
In the studio or at the workbench
Greeley’s LINC Library Innovation Center boasts much more than books. The 62,000-square-foot space was built for community learning, with a variety of workshop spaces and a full calendar of free educational events.
“We’re all about lifelong learning,” says Melissa Beavers, LINC Library manager and excellence coordinator for programming for the High Plains Library District. “Libraries provide great opportunities for informal learning that is free.”
Two of LINC’s most popular creative hubs are its woodshop and recording studios, where community members can explore hands-on projects with guidance from library staff. Many of the workshops fill up fast and require advance registration.
Woodshop
Every Tuesday, woodworking beginners can learn the foundations of the craft with a free certification training that guides participants through safety rules and the facility’s wide range of machinery.
Innovation Technician Jude Carpenter starts people with simple projects, like building a wooden mallet. As they gain experience, she challenges them with larger endeavors, like building frames and shelving.
“In our certification class, we’re kind of teaching the basics, like even just how to read a ruler,” she says.
The added benefit to the woodshop is the community that has grown around the space.
“We have patrons who hang out with each other after work, or they just come in here when other patrons are here,” Carpenter says.
After completing the introductory certification course, patrons are free to begin using the workshop with staff assistance. For those interested in woodworking on a smaller scale, a separate LINC Carving Club meets weekly to craft and create.
Recording studio
Across from LINC’s woodworking shop is a fully equipped media studio set up for recording professional-quality audio and video. Anyone can learn how to podcast, shoot a music video or polish their projects using the library’s editing software.
“We have the opportunity for patrons to ask for help, and staff walk them through setting up what a recording session would look like, whether that’s music or an interview,” Beavers says.
AV Technician Joshua Valdez says the studio sees a wide range of clients, from media novices to seasoned professionals.
For newcomers, he offers personalized, one-on-one sessions covering everything from using recording equipment to editing in Adobe Creative Cloud. Appointments with a librarian or technician to learn more about the studio can be set up online, in person or over the phone.
Communicating across cultures and species
Aims Community College’s continuing education program offers the opportunity to learn and explore new topics on its campuses. Classes cost as little as $12 and span a wide breadth of topics, from arts and culture to health and wellness.
“These classes really are for those looking to get education but don’t need credit,” says Rina Mitchell, continuing education manager at Aims.
Options range from single-day workshops, like making Japanese desserts, to more intensive programs, like professional dog training.
Japanese mochi
Japanese culture
Through her work teaching the Japanese language, instructor Sumiko Gibson has found that the most impactful parts of her lessons are often the cultural elements. That inspired her to start teaching workshops on Japanese culture at Aims in Greeley, where she guides participants through tea ceremonies and making mochi, a traditional rice cake. Her workshop topics vary throughout the year.
“I find people love Japanese food, and thanks to anime and games, I have a very wide range of students, from the older people to the younger kids,” she says.
Aims dog training course
Dog training
For animal lovers, Aims offers a dog training program in Windsor that blends classroom learning with hands-on practice. Instructor Angela Murray, owner of Khyzen Canine, says her students range from aspiring trainers to pet owners who want to better understand their canine companions.
“What I love is being able to have a classroom piece to it and then being able to have hands-on that same week by applying what we’re learning,” says Murray, who has worked with dogs professionally for 30 years.
Students can work with their own pets or with dogs from Animal Friends Alliance, a rescue in Fort Collins. Lessons with foster animals are held at a training center in Fort Collins, and additional work is done with the animals at the shelter facility.
“This is a win-win for my students and the dogs that need to be adopted,” Murray says. “My students get the hands-on experience needed to be successful, and the dogs get an opportunity to learn skills that make them more adoptable and extra enrichment to help combat stress or anxiety that comes with living in a shelter.”
After nine months of training, her students receive a certificate of completion, which can open professional doors or help them pursue national certification.
Annual Greeley Fire Department open house
Be prepared to save a life
Learning skills like first aid or CPR isn’t just for medical professionals. Free workshops, held at the American Red Cross in Loveland or at the location of participants’ choosing, make these trainings available to anyone interested in knowing how to respond in an emergency situation.
“I often tell people it’s important to learn these skills because you may have to use them on someone you love,” says Melissa Venable, executive director of the American Red Cross of Northern Colorado.
Serving 11 counties in Northern and Northeastern Colorado, the local Red Cross chapter offers free first aid, CPR and AED workshops to anyone interested. Administering CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, can keep oxygen flowing to the brain and other vital organs until an ambulance arrives to assist a person in need. An AED, or automated external defibrillator, delivers an electric shock that can help restore a normal heartbeat after a heart attack.
While the Red Cross offers paid certification courses for professionals to learn these skills and others, free learning opportunities are available to anyone who simply wants to know lifesaving skills. Venable has organized many free workshops for businesses, schools, churches and clubs.
“Whether you’re certified or not, you never know when you’re going to be somewhere and somebody has a cardiac event, or somebody is choking, or someone needs the AED to be used on them,” she says. “The more skills you have, the more confident you’re going to be in those situations.”
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More American Red Cross Workshops
Other free American Red Cross workshops, like the Ready Rating disaster preparedness program, cater to businesses. Workshops such as Prepare with Pedro are designed for young children. To set up a Red Cross training session, contact 970.458.3033 or paul.desena@redcross.org.
