Roamin' the Range for April

After the driest March on record, we should all be looking forward to April showers — no foolin’. There are also lots of fun events to get out and enjoy, rain or shine.

Something for everyone at FoCoMx

Most of us don’t remember our school bands playing a citywide music festival, but that’s exactly what five groups from the Poudre School District get to do on Saturday, April 14. As part of FoCoMx – the Fort Collins Music Experiment – student bands Cut Time, Roof Drain, Scatter Brains and the Bipolar Bears, all from the Polaris lab school, and the Lincoln Jam Band from Lincoln Middle School play Avogadro’s Number, 605 S. Mason St. in Fort Collins, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

FoCoMx is a two-day celebration of Northern Colorado music presenting more than 300 local bands — everyone from Danielle Ate the Sandwich to Fierce Bad Rabbit — in 30 different downtown Fort Collins venues. The fun starts on Friday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m. and closes places down in the wee small hours of Sunday, April 15. A wristband that gets you into all shows both days is $15 before April 1; $20 after. For tickets and a complete lineup, go to focomx.org.

Field day for horse owners at ARDEC

Everything you could ever want to know about your best four-legged friend will be covered during “Your Horse and You — an Equine Field Day” on Saturday, April 14. Colorado State University Extension will host the all-day event — from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. — at the Agriculture Research, Development and Education Center off the I-25 Frontage Road south of East County Road 56.

Experts from CSU and the Colorado Department of Agriculture will cover topics ranging from basic nutrition and poisonous plants in your pasture to live demonstrations of how to assess your horse’s health.

The cost is $30 for adults, $20 for those 19 and younger, including lunch and morning and afternoon refreshments. Registration deadline is April 6.

To register, go to larimer.org/extension/equine.

Intertribal Powwow at CSU

Northern Colorado’s largest Native American gathering takes place over three days – April 20-22 – at the Moby Arena, south Shields and Plum streets on the Colorado State University campus.

The 20th annual Spring Contest Powwow and Art Market, presented by the Northern Colorado Intertribal Powwow Association, will feature music, dance, food and arts and crafts. The family-oriented event – no alcohol or drugs allowed – costs just $5 per day for adults, $8 for a weekend pass, and $3 a day or $5 for the weekend for children 6-12; 5 and under get in free. Bring your lawn chairs.

For more information, call 970-498-0290 or email [email protected].

Solve Camping Conundrums at Lions’ Open Space

The time to make sure your camping skills are what they should be is before you set off into the forest, not when you pull into the campground after dark in the rain. Larimer County’s Natural Resources staff can help you get up to speed with a two-hour program called Camping Conundrums, presented on April 21.

Bring a backpack full of supplies that you might take camping to the Lions’ Open Space, just north of Bingham Hill Road off Overland Trail near LaPorte at 9:30 a.m. A county naturalist will introduce you to vital concepts such as how to use a campstove, what to do around wildlife, and how to avoid camping catastrophes. The program is free and involves no hiking.

For more information call Heather Young at 970-679-4489. She can also fill you in on other programs for all ages in Horsetooth Mountain and other county open spaces.