The On Havana Image Library

Life is interesting On Havana Street, and we wanted to show you just how interesting! Here is a glance at Life On Havana, so you can capture a glance of the fun and unique experiences found On Havana. 

2012 Grocery Cart Races at Safeway to Benefit Comitis Crisis Center:  January 24, 2012  Our On Havana Street version of Supermarket Sweep!  21 teams raised raised donations to compete in this fun race to restock the food pantry at Comitis.  We raised a total of $5000!  That's a lot of groceries and a lot of fun!

The Collector Car Council of Colorado Team and the "Cereal Killers" Team from Webolutions.

The Desperate Housewives Team at Checkout and the Extreme Couponers Team from Webolutions.

Queens of the Aisle Shopping during the races and the Rock Stars Team from Comitis Crisis Center.

We could not have done this event without the Safeway Managers and our hard-working volunteers!

The crowd at the finish line and the first load of groceries loaded in the van ready to be delivered to Comitis.

Homespun Holidays 2011:  The winner of our Merchants' Deck The Windows Contest was Kind Gifts Smoke Shop at Yale and Havana in the Havana Exchange Shopping Center.  Kind Gifts received the most votes in the People's Choice balloting.  Everyone had fun at the Ugly Holiday Sweater Party at The Summit Steakhouse on December 15.  The winner was Mercedes Martinez pictured below next to "the candy man."  Great fun!

  

Halloween 2011:  The weather was perfect for Trick or Treating and Costume Contests at The Gardens on Havana on October 29.  There was a tie for first place in the Pet Costume contest at PetCo with Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and her dog (dressed up as a witch) and the team of the Pharaoh Dog and Cleopatra the Cat each getting 1st place prizes.  Second place went to the M&M Family who dressed their two tortoises up as M&Ms, and third place went to the adorable 6 month old yellow lab puppy, Ditto, who was dressed up as a flower garden with his owner the gardener.  In the adult costume contest, Willy Wonka took 1st place and My Favorite Places" took 2nd place.  In the kids costume category, a family dressed up as characters from the Iron Man Cartoon took 1st place (picture used at the permission of mom):

   

   

 

Our Tapas & Tea International Market Event on September 24, 2011, was delicious!  Pictured below is the Sushi plate at M-mart (totally consumed 2 minutes after I snapped this picture!), the Mexican Tapas at Gomez Market, the crowd sampling tapas and tea at M-Mart, the yummy, warm Somali Sambusa at Havana Halal Market, Solomon from Solomon's Grocery serving his special brew of Russian tea and Lulyakebabs and bruchetta at Zhanna's Day Spa at The Gardens on Havana.

On Friday, September 23, Menchie's Frozen Yogurt at The Gardens on Havana held its official Ribbon Cutting Grand opening ceremony.  the Aurora Chamber of Commerce staff and ambassadors were on hand with the big scissors to help with the ribbon cutting. 

June 21, 2011:  Rose Garden Concert with Six Foot Joe and The Red Hot Rhinos.  They were fantastic!  The roses looked and smelled marvelous! 

 

 

May 23, 2011:  The new Buffalo Wild Wings at The Gardens on Havana held its Grand Opening Celebration.  The first 100 people in line got free wings for a year!  There were 96 "wing nuts" in line as of 10 p.m. on May 22! 

 

 

 

March 18, 2011:  Cabin Fever Party and Wine Tasting at Dumitri's.  It was standing room only at Dumitri's for our 2nd annual cabin fever party.  The winner of the crazy winter hat contest was the wreath hat, and the runner up was the mad hatter.  Here are some pictures from the Cabin Fever event:
  
 
 

 February 12, 2011:  The new 7-Eleven at Birchtree Center celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting, cake and lots of free prizes.  Our Valentine's Day Travel The World Through Chocolate event was held immediately after the 7-Eleven Grand opening and drew a big crowd.  The weather even cooperated!

  

January 26, 2011:  Grocery Cart Races at Safeway.  Twenty-three teams raised private donations for the privilege of racing grocery carts through Safeway at 1677 S Havana.  All of the food purchased during the race went to restock the food pantry at Comitis Crisis Center.  The teams raised a total of $4,046.30 with which to purchase the groceries.  You filled four pallets full of food!  The Aurora Kiwanis Club hauled the groceries over to Comitis.  Yes, the pantry was fully stocked after all of the groceries were unloaded.  The winners were The Desparate Housewives Team, The Pro Shoppers and the Regis High School Team.  We had a large crowd at the Awards Ceremony at Benefit Night, Saturday, Jan 29, at Noodles & Co.  We definitely will make this an annual event:

          

October 23, 2010:  Electronic Recycling Event and Food Drive/Fund Raiser for the Food Bank of the Rockies in the Western Centers lot.  You really did your part!!  We filled two 53' semi trucks and another 24' truck with over 50,000 pounds of used electronic items for recycling!   That's 50,000 pounds of electroni waste that you kept out of the land fill!!  You also were very generous, donating over $1,300 in cash and enough nonperishable food to fill a 24' truck!  Thank you all!

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Tapas & Teas, September 25:  What Fun!  Twelve International Markets On Havana Street came together at this event, creating a Tapas recipe book and serving appetitizers, snacks and teas from their countries of origin.  People shopped the markets purchasing the ingredients they needed to make the Tapas recipes.  The parking lots filled up quickly, but since it was a beautiful day people decided to walk market-to-market along Havana instead of driving.  Here are some event pictures:

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Taste of Aurora at The Stampede On 9/16/10:  This is an Aurora Chamber of Commerce and Aurora Sentinel Event that takes place On Havana Street at The Stampede.  On Havana Street helps out with encouraging our restaurants to participate and with promotion of the event. Everyone enjoyed large portions of great food and had a good time:

 

Our last summer concert for 2010 was held Tuesday, August 25, in the Lisa Strawn Memorial Rose Garden at The Gardens on Havana.  The Aurora Symphony Orchestra's Brass Quintet performed as everyone enjoyed free ice cream sundaes from Baskin Robbins.  A big full moon was rising in east during the concert--quite a sight to see!

 

Suss Buick GMC celebrated their 30th Anniversary of being On Havana Street in August.  Congrats Paul, Jim, Kyle and the Family! 

 

2nd Annual HBID Open:  On July 14, we had beautiful weather for our 2nd annual golf tournament to benefit the Junior Golf Training Program at CommonGround Golf Course.  We raised $3,200 for the

cause! 

Havana BID board members, Mark Vissering and Milena Caldwell, worked the registration table.

 

The winning foursome with a score of 57 was from Colorado's Pro Gym on Havana Street. On the right is a picture of the tournament organizers with Dave Troyer (second from the left), golf manager at CommonGround, holding the check for $3,200 for the Junior Golf Training Program.

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The Country/Rock Band, OldSkool, performed live at our Fourth Tuesday Rose Garden concert on June 22, in the rose garden plaza at The Gardens on Havana (former Buckingham Square Mall Site).  About 150 people enjoyed the great weather and the concert:

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Opening day of the 2010 Aurora Farmers' Market on Tuesday, June 22, was a sell out! People had no trouble finding the market in its new location at 1470 S Havana:

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The 2010 Cruzin' Havana Car Show & Poker Run attracted 6,000 classic cars and 10,000 people to the street.  The weather cooperated and everyone had a great time:

Taking a chance at rolling the Fuzzy Dice to win a gas card (picture by Angel Canann); a sleek motorcycle, and the winner of the "Door for D.A.R.E.," Gretchen Mercke pictured here with her children.  The door was donated by Stevinson Toyota East & Scion, painted by Scott Gilchrist of Precision Auto Body and pin striped to perfection by Mike Young.

The festival sites were packed with classic cars; Paul Braun won the 50" big screen HDTV in the poker run.

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Our first Rose Garden Concert for the season was Tuesday, May 25.  Despite the strong wind and a few rain drops, The Aurora Singers sang and danced their hearts out!  We had a crowd of about 85 hearty souls in attendance, including some swing dancers who came down from the University of Northern Colorado for the occasion and the Chick-Fil-A Cow.  Here are some pictures:

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May is National Hamburger Month On Havana Street.  We are holding Hamburger Month drawings

every Friday in May:

On May 7, Tim from Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers did the honors of drawing the name for the restaurant gift certificates; The winner was Cheryl DuCros of Aurora.

 

On May 14, it was the crew from Old School Burgers doing the drawing; The winner was Jacquelene Lenfestey, the marketing manager for Budget Car Sales.  Jacquelene won $100 in On Havana Street Restaurant Gift Certificates. 

April 24, 2010:  Our On Havana Street Community did their part for Earth Day by filling up four vehicles with used electronic equipment for recycling.  The team from Techno+Rescue was on hand to help unload the vehicles.  Everyone bringing items for recycling got a free Aurora Sentinel Newspaper stuffed with our On Havana Street Values Coupon section and event flyers.  Recyclers also received special coupons from Red Robin, Dumitri's Family Restaurant, and Old School Burger, as a kick off to our National Hamburger Month celebration in May.  Here are some pictures:

A pick-up truck full of used computers from St. Therese School in Aurora and the first Techno+Rescue truck is already half full 30 minutes into the event.

 

Trying to squeeze a few more TVs into the truck; enjoying a delicious burger for lunch, courtesy of Red Robin Hamburgers On Havana Street.

The crew from Techno+Rescue and On Havana Street Executive Director, Gayle Jetchick, in front of one of the trucks full of electronic equipment for recycling.

With only about 10 minutes to go, we have filled four vehicles with an estimated 31,000 pounds of electronic equipment for recycling.

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March 27, 2010:  Benefit Night for the Aurora Singers at Noodles & Company.  It was standing room only at Noodles & Co at The Gardens on Havana at 7 p.m. when the Aurora Singers sang songs from their upcoming May 1&2 concert called, "Hometown Favorites."  Here are some pictures:

Stephanie leads the Aurora Singers through a sampling of Hometown Favorites at Noodles & Co.

 

Young photographers capturing the moment digitally.

Patrons enjoying the free concert and (right) Lydia listening intently to the music.

Brie (in green shirt) and Kathryn enjoying the Noodle Bowls at Noodles, and (right) Lydia with her dad watching the Aurora singers perform.

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Women Making A Difference Awards Luncheon, Friday, March 12, 2010.  Hosted by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee, the luncheon honored women who have made a difference in their business environment and in our community.  Havana BID Executive Director, Gayle Jetchick, was one of the nominees.

Women Making a Difference Award Nominees (left to right):  Gayle Jetchick, Peg Ault, Tammi Norcutt, Annette Rothman, Karen Loucks Rinedollar, Dawn Lestikow attending the event on behalf of her mother and nominee Polly, Maribel Chavez and Debra Peterson.

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Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers held their Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting on Tuesday, March 2.  Freddy Simon, the creator of the Steakburger, flew into town from Wichita, Kansas, for the grand opening event:

February 2010:  Our 2nd Annual Travel The World Through Chocolate chocolate-tasting event was delicious and fun.  We had 255 entries for our free Five Golden Tickets drawing for the $100 Valentine's Day Dinner for Two at The Summit Steakhouse and four chocolate gift baskets.  Willy Wonka, portrayed by actor, Brian Dowling, was at the event all day and did the honors of drawing the Five Golden Tickets winners.

 

English Teacup Owner, Annette, with her granddaughter, Lily, getting their picture taken with Willy Wonka.  Two of the four chocolate gift baskets.

Barb Jansen from Autawash having "high tea" and chocolate with her sorority sisters at The English Teacup at the event.  Photographer, Angel Canann, with Lily.

 

Neighbor, Lou Mraz, with his two favorite chocolate bars.  Willy Wonka doing the Five Golden Tickets drawing.

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January 2010:  We Kicked Off 2010 with a Community/Business Food Drive for Comitis Crisis Center.  Noodles & Co. at The Gardens on Havana Hosted a Benefit Night on January 24. Members of the Aurora Kiwanis Club helped gather the food and take it over to Comitis to replenish their pantry.  Thanks for your help, Kiwanis Club members!

Grand Finale Year-End Car Sale Event:  For the first time ever, all 29 car dealerships On Havana Street joined together to hold a huge year-end car sale from Dec. 26--31.  It was really nice to see the customer parking spots at dealerships full.  Sales were brisk.  Customers and sales staff were all smiles!

Buying a Toyota Tundra to, "Go Alaska!"                        Excited about buying a new Toyota Minivan!

Getting instructions on all the bells and whistles on their new Yukon XL at Suss; of course, the wife gets to be the first to drive their beautiful new Yukon!

Thanks to the Aurora City Council, we have a moratorium on banner code enforcement through 2010 in Aurora, so we were able to advertise the big year-end car sale with banners on the street!

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On Saturday, December 5, we went caroling with the Aurora Singers at The Gardens on Havana.  Noodles & Company served up free hot chocolate. It was clear and cold, with the temperatures in the teens, but everyone had a great time!

Caroling at Kohl's; Santa joined us for Caroling at Petco.  (Santa is one of the petco managers)

Singing Frosty The Snowman at Petco; we then regrouped at Sprouts, after singing a surprise Happy Birthday to Sprouts Manager Vince.

At Chick-Fil-A, the restaurant was full and everyone joined in singing the carols. These two young men played the bells for Jingle Bells. 

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Chick-Fil-A at The Gardens on Havana Opened at 6 a.m. on Thursday, December 3. The faithful and hardy camped out overnight in the parking lot to be one of the first 100 in the door to receive free Chick-Fil-A for a year.  The temperature dropped to 7 degrees overnight. The tents started going up at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, and the first person in the door had been camped out for over 25 hours!  Cold, fun, and well worh the wait, according to the crowd. 

Tents set up in the parking lot--looks like an ice fishing competition!

Playing "washers" to pass the time.  A poll revealed that the average camper had 6 layers of clothing on to stay warm in the single digit temperatures.

The long line at 5:50 a.m..  First in line--this young lady had been camped out since 5 a.m. Wednesday morning to be first in the door.

 

Sweet success--a stack of 52 coupons worth free Chick Fil A for a year!

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Chick-Fil-A grand opening:  Left to right:  Katie (red sweater) and Doug, the owners/operators of the new Chick-Fil-A at the Gardens on Havana, Mr. Cow, Mike Hensley from the Chick-Fil-A corporate offices in Atlanta, Ward IV Aurora City Council Member Molly Markert, and Scott Goldammer, property manager of The Gardens on Havana from Miller Weingarten Realty.

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Santas were out On Havana Street on Saturday, November 28, spreading the good cheer and thanking folks for shopping on Havana Street.  Santas presented shoppers with over 800 gift certificates from On Havana Street Merchants, other gifts and candy. 

 

Elf Shelli and Santa Paul in front of Kohl's; Santa Dick and a shopper at Ross

 

Sharon, Dumitri, Santa AJ, and Millie at Dumitri's; Doug Hermann with Santa Dick at Dora's

Pam, Santa, and Claudia at The English Teacup; yes, that is me in my Elf hat with Santa AJ in front of the Santa Express--my Yukon Denali all decked out for the occasion. 

Santa with a young shopper at Ross; and a cute little guy not sure what to make of Santa.

We all had lots of fun!  Gayle

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The Grand Opening of Prop Wash Laundry, 2670 So Havana Street, was Sunday, November 15.  It was all about balloons, family and friends, pizza and great fun!  Here are some pictures: 

 

Pictured directly above left are Doug, Jenny and their family, the owners Prop Wash Laundry.

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Petco's Grand Opening at The Gardens on Havana, October 23-24.  Here are some pictures:

The Ribbon Cutting and the long line of people and pets waiting to get in the doors at the Petco Grand Opening.  Below:  All decked out for the Howl-O-Ween Costume Parade:

  

Above left:  Trying to decide which Aussie to adopt; middle, enjoying the mice; and right, happy girl having fun shopping at Petco.

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The first of a series of three public visioning workshops for the Havana North/Fan Fare area was held on October 22 with 75 neighbors and business owners, along with 20 city staff members participating. 

Pictured below, left: Colorado State Representative Su Ryden and a neighbor studying the maps; middle, Aurora City Planner, Michael Smyth, explaining the process; and, right, David from ECD CO and Barb from the Sunnyvale Neighborhood reviewing the maps, with City Planner, Peter Kernkamp, looking on.

The new Sprouts Farmers Market opened at The Gardens on Havana on Friday, October 2.  People started lining up to get in at 4 a.m.--yes, it was only 28 degrees, too!  By 7 a.m. when the doors opened, the line wrapped around the building. What an absolutely beautiful store and what fantastic grand opening specials!  Here are some pictures of people having fun shopping the new market:

 

Arnie & Sandi Schultz shopping for produce; and, on the right, the store manager, Vince, and the Sprouts regional manager, Dennis.  Here are some of the shoppers...

 

This family was in line early, but as you can tell by the look on this little boy's face--it was well worth the wait--ahh, cheddar bunnies!

Long lines outside and inside of sprouts on opening day.

Doug Sanders, Sprouts President and COO, addressing the crowd; on the right, a sure sign of progress is a full parking lot with construction of the Chick-Fil-A seen in the background.

On September 26, fifteen International Markets on Havana Street participated in our Get Cookin' event by sharing recipes from their native countries and offering tastes of International food.  The weather cooperated, too! Here are some pictures of unique experiences in shopping and dining On Havana Street:

Left:  Shepherd's Pie and Cumpets at The English Tea Cup; Right:  Serving up the Bulgogi at M-Mart

Left:  Ehiopian Coffee at Tana Grocery and, right, enjoying a spot of tea at The English Tea Cup

Left:  Deciding what to taste at M-Mart and, on the right, a couple guys from Littleton enjoying Scottish Sausage at The English Tea Cup.

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Taste of Aurora, presented by the Aurora Chamber and Aurora Sentinel, drew over 800 people to The Stampede on south Havana Street on September 17.   Over 30 restaurants served up great food and drink.  A good time was had by all.  Check out these pictures!

 

 

 

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The dedication of the Lisa Strawn Memorial Rose Garden and community ice cream social on August 29 brought out a crowd of over 500 people.  Everyone enjoyed ice cream sundaes by Baskin Robbins and popsicles while listening to music by the Aurora Symphony Orchestra's Brass Quintet.  Lisa Strawn's brother, Scott, was in attendance.  The rose garden and trellis looked lovely.  GNC and the Nail Studio held their grand openings, and Noodles & Company held a fund-raiser for the Aurora Symphony by donating 25% of the sales in their restaurant from 5-9 p.m.  The weather was perfect and the sunset was beautiful.  Here are some pictures:

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On Saturday, August 29, the beautiful new GNC Live Well Store at The Gardens on Havana held their grand opening/ribbon cutting celebration.  Pictured below (left to right):  The first customer in the store; Derrick Forn, general manager, and store owners Raj and Shavina Mohan.

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Monday, August 3:  Dealer Visit Program with Congressman Ed Perlmutter at Budget Car Sales.  On Havana Street dealership owners, employees, other business owners, and elected officials engaged in a heated discussion with the Con