If you’ve ever wanted to see a chicken decide your fate, this is your chance.
Localworks is inviting the community to spend this Colorado Gives Day at the fourth annual Bar Stool Bingo fundraiser. Test your luck at this one-of-a-kind fundraiser for Wheat Ridge’s own Clear Creek Makerspace (CCM). The event takes place Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Esters in Gold’s Marketplace, 10151 W. 26th Ave.
Bar Stool Bingo is an interactive, community-driven fundraiser with a Wheat Ridge twist. Inspired by the classic Texan game “Chicken S#!T Bingo,” players buy a raffle ticket with a letter-and-number combination, just like a bingo card. Then, in a single sudden-death round of bingo, a chicken “chooses” the winner in a rather…well…natural way.
Don’t worry! The chickens will be cozy and cared for at their farm in a custom-built coop made especially for this event. When “nature calls,” their lucky droppings will determine who takes home the prize.
The first drink is free, and bingo cards will be sold at the start of the evening. Sales close at 6:45 p.m., so players hoping to compete should plan to arrive early. Registration is strongly encouraged at wearelocalworks.org/barstoolbingo.
All proceeds from Bar Stool Bingo will directly benefit the next big step for Clear Creek Makerspace—the community’s creative hub and incubator for innovation, where artists, inventors, and entrepreneurs come together to build and learn.
Since opening in March 2024, CCM has welcomed more than 40,000 visitors and built a membership of 230 active makers who use its 7,500-square-foot facility to woodwork, weld, 3D print, sew and collaborate to inspire new ideas. In just 18 months, the space has hosted more than 2,500 workshops, launched three new businesses, and even helped start a nonprofit.
To keep up with demand and continue driving local economic growth, CCM is expanding to build an outdoor Creative Commons. This flexible workspace will support a wide range of projects, including blacksmithing, foundry and casting work, larger-scale metalworking, ceramics, glassblowing, kiln work, timber and lumber projects, fiberglass work, vehicle modifications, painting, staining, and experimental materials like concrete casting. The Creative Commons will also include affordable micro-studios, giving makers, artists, and entrepreneurs dedicated space to explore new techniques and bring their projects to life.
“We’ve hit a point where every square foot of our current facility is in active use, which is incredible but also limiting,” said Tyler Kerr, CCM director. He added, “The outdoor expansion lets us keep that momentum going and support more makers, more startups and more local jobs. Providing more advanced tech and studio space for local entrepreneurs and creative folks to launch their innovative ideas helps strengthen the local economy and keeps creative talent rooted in the community.”
The expansion project is part of Localworks’ Colorado Gives Day campaign, aiming to raise $15,000 in support of the new Creative Commons. Every contribution advances Wheat Ridge as a place where creativity and innovation thrive.
• $25 helps retrofit tools and equipment for outdoor workspaces.
• $50 supports ventilation and safety equipment for forges and kilns.
• $100 contributes to the build-out of secure, weatherproof shipping container studios.
• $250 funds small-business incubation for local entrepreneurs.
• $500+ invests in long-term economic growth by helping us launch the first wave of micro-studios, fueling job creation and small-scale manufacturing in Wheat Ridge
When asked what the current CCM member perception was of this project, Kerr said, “The level of buy-in has been incredible. It really reaffirms that this expansion is a natural next step, and one that opens doors for exciting new collaborations and business opportunities.”
Those interested in contributing can learn more and schedule their gift at wearelocalworks.org/barstoolbingo.
Whether you come for the chickens, the community, or the chance to support local makers, Bar Stool Bingo promises an exciting evening and a big impact for Wheat Ridge’s creative future.
ready to decide the fate of a lucky local
bingo player. PHOTO BY ADISON WASH
