Cottonwood Institute’s annual Happy Hour came back in 2022! The event brought staff, instructors, board members, donors, sponsors, and program partners together for a night of fun. We are so grateful to Jon Underkofler and AllianceBernstein for hosting us this year at their new gorgeous downtown offices. Click here for more photos from the event!

We have a lot to celebrate this year. In the 2021-2022 school year, Cottonwood Institute reached 785 participants over 21,475 program hours, and we completed 7,168 service hours. We had 18 program partners and 36 event sponsors that allowed us to make our programs happen. But that’s not all! Just that afternoon, the Cottonwood Institute team received two awards from the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. Our Changemakers Program won the Innovative New Program award, and instructor Erin Angel was awarded Outstanding Environmental Educator! 

We want to give a special shout out to our Happy Hour sponsors. Jive City filled the space with amazing music; Chook Chicken provided scrumptious curry chicken sliders; and Great Divide Brewing and Epic Western provided refreshing beers and canned cocktails. Attendees also completed (or…attempted) a scavenger hunt that challenged them to tie different instructors’ favorite knots, share their favorite camping/hiking spots, and take a bearing using a compass. Winners were awarded fantastic prizes from Great Divide Brewing, Epic Western, Maroon Bell Outdoor, and Dakine. 

It was a great night of celebration and looking forward to the next year at Cottonwood Institute! We loved bringing together so many people affiliated with Cottonwood Institute in different ways. Thank you to all who attended and our fantastic sponsors for helping make our event happen! We’re already excited for the next Happy Hour.

If you’re inspired to support Cottonwood Institute this year, check out our Ways to Give page. 

Written by Carly Winner, Cottonwood Institute Events Manager.