COS Town Tidings #25-341

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Grab a beverage and catch up on what you missed this week ☕

🤣 Daily Chuckle

🌟 Local Spotlight: 😲 Why Would She Name Her Candy Shop This?

📰 News from this week in Colorado Springs!

🤗 Wellness Tips you missed

👉 Can you help next weekend?

🍳 Sizzle Up Your Week with Our Recipe Archives!

📆 Local Events + Concerts, 🤶 Holiday Markets, Fairs/Festivals

🌤 COS Weather - Mostly sunny with cool temps 

🙋‍♀️ Who Should We Feature?

After spending over 3 decades in the hard candy business, I've had enough...

👉I've finally realized it's for suckers 🤣

😲 Why Would She Name Her Candy Shop This?

🍬 One taste at 30,000 feet was all it took to change everything

What does Christmas taste like? For Monique Borrero-Rivera, it's the fiery warmth of cinnamon and the cool whisper of spearmint. Picture grandma's kitchen, filled with magic as she crafted gleaming, jewel-like pieces of hard candy. This wasn't just a treat; it was a tradition.

That recipe, a sacred trust, eventually landed in Monique's hands. As the keeper of this legacy, she recreated that cherished feeling for years, pouring a connection to the women before her into every piece.

Her children, however, saw a bigger future. "Mom," they insisted, "this is so good, you should sell it." Though daunted, Monique started sharing with her flight attendant colleagues. Flying at 30,000 feet, she'd offer a piece of home, and the reaction was addictive. They found the candy so irresistible they laughingly nicknamed it "crack." The name—a testament to its goodness that Monique initially found shocking but grew to love—stuck. That response gave her the courage for the leap of faith. "I was terrified," Monique recalls, "but seeing that joy on strangers' faces, I knew my kids were right. This tradition wasn't just mine to keep anymore."

Today, that passion has blossomed from two original flavors to over 160. While her candy now delights customers from farmers' markets to the Chamonix Casino, every piece is still made to order from her home, as fresh as when she creates it for her own family.

Monique isn't just a candy maker; she's a curator of joy, and she wants to share a piece of that story with you.

Taste the Tradition for Yourself

Mention this article with any purchase at the Candy Cane Craft & Gift Show (Dec. 13 & 14) or with any special order placed, and receive a complimentary bag of the original Cinnamon or Spearmint candy—a piece of her family's history, gifted to you.

Find Monique's "Crack" Candy Shop:

• Facebook 

• Phone for Special Orders: (719) 393-5610

• Email: [email protected]

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📰 News from this week in Colorado Springs!

Here are some of the stories we shared this week. Check out any issues you missed.

• 🌟Community Corner, Non-profit Spotlight: 💌 Your Holiday Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It... (Issue #25-340)

   

• 🍫 TRIVIA: Is This Colorado’s Sweetest Historic Landmark? (Issue #25-336)

   

• 🎺 USAFA Hosts Free Holiday Show (Issue #25-338)

  • ✅ Home and Living: Furnace Checks…WHY?

     

• 🏛️ City Approves 2026 Budget See What’s Funded (Issue #25-335)

   

• 🍽️ Passing Grades for Local Restaurants (Issue #25-339)

   

• 🚔 How to File a Winter Crash Report (Issue #25-337)

• 🧩 A New Approach to Dementia Care

• 🥾 Easy Stroll at Mary Kyer Park

⭐Support Our Local Businesses!

🍳 Sizzle Up Your Week with Our Recipe Archives!

Hungry for past delights? Dive into our Recipe Archives! 🥘 Find recipes from this week.

• 🥘 Skillet Chicken with Parmesan Mushroom Gravy (under Entrees)

• 🍪 Pumpkin Cream-Filled Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies (under Desserts)

👉 Click here and discover a world of flavors

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🎉 Events Calendar! (More events including FREE, click here)

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📆 Sample Local Events

*Weather permitted

• Dec 7, Noon: Goat's Milk Soap Making @ Meraki Springs, 2703 W Colorado Ave $65

• Dec 7, 1-4 PM: 3-Hour Original Colorado Springs Food Tour @1 Tejon St $69-$87

• Dec 7, 1pm: The Christmas Cricket of Colorado City @ OCCHS, 1 S. 24th St $5-$40

• Dec 7 (1pm), 13-14: The Ringmaster`s Christmas @The MAT, 1626 S Tejon $26.50

• Dec 7, 1 & 4pm: A Time to Dance Presents: Believe @ ENT Center, Shockley-Zalabak Theater $20-$33

• Dec 7 (2pm), 11-28: Mary Poppins @ Fine Arts Center, 30 West Dale St $18-$70

• Dec 7 (4pm), 12-21: The Importance of Being Earnest @ ENT Center $21-$47

• Dec 10, 6-8:30pm: Cinnamon Rolls - Sourdough Baking Class @ Nature's Start Bread Company, 3312 Austin Bluffs $75 (3 Seats Available)

• Dec 12 & 29, 9am-5pm: Dog Days at the Zoo @ Cheyenne Mtn Zoo

• Dec 17, 6-8pm: Pedestal Flip Calendar Class @ Meraki Springs, 2703 W Colorado Ave $40

• Dec 21, 10am-Noon: Beginner Dot Mandala Painting Workshop @ Treehouse Cafe, 5965 N Academy $50 (6 Seats Available)

🎶 Fall Concerts - Weather permitting

• Dec 7, 2:30pm: Chamber Orchestra of Springs: Dances With The Winds @ Ent Center for the Arts $18-$41

• Dec 7, 3pm: Lessons & Carols: The Guests of Christmas! @ First United Methodist Church, 420 N Nevada Ave FREE Admission

• Dec 9, 6pm: Holly & Ivy concert @ Air Force Academy FREE (must register for ticket)

• Dec 12, 7-8:30pm: Heaven and Nature Ring @ Immanuel Lutheran Church, 846 East Pikes Peak Ave FREE

• Dec 21, 3pm: Pikes Peak Philharmonic: Jazz @ENT Center for the Arts, 5225 N Nevada $14-$20

🎅 TODAY - Dec 7, 10am-4pm: Holiday Food & Gift Festival @Norris Penrose Event Center 1045 Lower Gold Camp Rd $8
(get $1 <coupn code HFGF25> or bring a can food item)

I met Monique (aka Momo), the brilliant mind behind The Beanibeings—her book’s characters come alive as stuffed animals, and her energy is magnetic. Go see her at in the middle aisle, halfway down on the corner on the left… and watch for her full story in an upcoming Spotlight!

🤶 Holiday Festivals, Fairs & Activities

• ⛸ Through - Jan 18: Skate In The Park @Acacia Park $15

• 🕯 Through Jan 4, Fri & Sat (5:30-10pm) & Sun - Thurs (5:30-9pm): Magic of Lights at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) $28-$72/vehicle

• 🎄 Through Dec 27: Christmas at Forest Bend @ Black Forest, 9525 Burgess Rd $15 (Tickets Sell Out Fast) 

• Dec 7-23, 25-Jan 1, 5-8:30pm: Electric Safari @ Cheyenne Mtn Zoo $21-$24

• Christmas Lights Guide - COS, Manitou & Woodland Park

• Jan 3-Feb 21: Ice Castles @ Cripple Creek $16-$29 (tickets on sale now)

    

• Dec 7, 9am-4pm: Doherty HS Craft Fair @ 4515 Barnes Rd FREE to attend

  • Visit Sandie’s Booth: 🌿 Zenfullyme: Your Answer To Aches, Stress & Problem Skin

• Dec 7, 10am-4pm: Holiday Bazaar - w/Santa & Grinch @ Sunshine Studios, 3970 Clear View Frontage Rd FREE admission

• Dec 7, 1-5pm: Small Business Christmas Market @ JAKs Brewing, 11858 Stapleton Dr, Peyton FREE admission

• Dec 7, 6pm: Manitou Christmas Parade @ Manitou Springs FREE

• Dec 8-11, 15-18: 2025 Creation: The Spirit of the Games Gingerbread Display @ The Broadmoor

• Dec 10-13, 17-20, 26-27, 5:30-8pm: 🎄 2.5-Hour Holiday Lights & Bites Progressive Dinner @ Downtown COS $99

• Dec 12, 13, 19 & 20, 6-8pm: Christmas Light Festival 2025 @ St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 7400 Tudor Rd $5.00 Entry fee per family/group + canned goods or a new toy!

• Dec 13, 4-8pm: Holiday Evening @Rock Ledge Ranch $8

• Dec 13, 20 & 27, 6-9pm: Murder Mystery, The Hollywood Hit - Holiday Show @Great Wolf Lodge, 9494 Federal Dr $79.95 (12 Ticket Left)

• Dec 14, 3-6pm: Holiday on the Hill @ Goldhill Substation, 955 W Moreno Ave FREE

• Dec 20, 10-11am: Centerpiece Workshop @ Phelan Gardens, 4955 Austin Bluffs $25

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