The Spirit of Community: Berthoud Day 2026

The Berthoud Beat Podcast was out and about for Berthoud Day 2026... Listen to what members of the Berthoud community had to say on one of our town's most important days.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Every town has a few days that feel like it belongs to everyone. Birthday is one of them. The streets fill up, the parade is underway, booths pop up across the park as kids run between games and food trucks. Neighbors stop to talk a little longer than they normally would. And for one day, the whole town feels like it's in the same place at the same time. But Birthday isn't just about the activities. It's about connection. It's about tradition. And it's about what it means to actually know the people you live next to. I'm Trent Budish, and this is the Birthday Podcast. And today, we're taking you inside the 73rd annual Birthday celebration. The people who show up year after year. One thing we heard again and again. This isn't just an event, it's a tradition.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Well, this is the 73rd Birtha Days, and I think it's an opportunity for families in the community to all come together and like really congregate and celebrate what it is to be in this amazing small town.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

And for a lot of people, what makes Bertha different is how the community actually shows up for each other.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

One thing that I I talk Bertha Up about all the time is it's a community that actually means it. There's a lot of places that will talk about community like it's a buzzword, but really here people show up and support all the small businesses and all of the people here if they ever need anything, like on the community pages on Facebook, someone will say, Hey, I need help uh doing something in my backyard. I'm an elderly person and I can't afford to pay someone to do it, and there's like 15, 16 people who will jump on it to go and help people out, and just being in a community like that means so much to us, and it's really wonderful to have something like this to celebrate this beautiful space.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

That sense of connection isn't just something people talk about. It shows up in real ways every single day. Among the vendors this year was Arcana House, a new local business that just opened in April. We spoke with Ian Shaw.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

Yeah, we just opened on the 19th of April, and our daughter was born on the 22nd, and so we are new and tired.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Ian says being a part of Birthday Day already feels like stepping into something bigger than just business. And for them, opening a business in Birth A isn't just about retail. It's about connection.

SPEAKER_03 3:01

Well, our retail is just what we refer to as ritual goods. It's a little bit more than just your typical metaphysical store. It's things that you can use for a little bit more of intention. And I mean coffee can be a ritual, right? Like so everything can be used in that way. So we like to help people find more of that connection with themselves and have more meeting in their day, and that can look a lot of different ways.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

We also spoke with Sean Murphy, a town trustee and member of the Tree Advisory Committee. For him, birthday starts simple.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

For me, the day usually starts over at the Boy Scout breakfast, and you break bread with, or break pancakes, I guess, with uh your fellow neighbors, and you know, you meet a whole bunch of different characters and stuff, different perspectives. And I think it's for me that coming together as a community to kind of share kind of that just an enjoyable day for all of us, you know.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

But he says the real value is what happens when people stop by his booth.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

As well as kind of the vision for the town, you know. I'm here to really take a lot of feedback from people, mainly on trees, but um, I think it's really helpful to just give me some perspective on, you know, uh what's going on in Berthood, what kind of ideas you know are out there in the community. I get positive and negative feedback sitting at the booth here and stuff, but it's all good.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Right now, he says a big focus is the health of the town's trees.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Uh new things for the tree committee. Uh, we've got Emerald Ash Border in town, which is a critical issue. We've got hundreds of trees under threat because of it. So we're helping educate the public on identification of symptomatic trees along with what the beetle looks like, as well as just kind of the run-of-the-mill kind of turf and gardening questions that kind of come our way. You know, what's wrong with my tree? How can I make it better? So it's great to have those conversations. I I personally love the outdoors and love trees, so uh this is a great chance to kind of talk about my passions or one of my passions.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

At another booth, Kate Elkins with Dwell Church described what the day feels like behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Um and it's just really fun to see like them all come together to put on this big event for everyone. And I think that's just like really important to the community to remember that we're all we're all here together and we're all living the same life together, and so um just like being in a unified space to celebrate is really fun.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

For volunteers, birthday day starts long before the crowds arrive.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

I honestly really enjoy the vendor setup. We show up on Friday and just help unload cars, and it is really fun just to like put your hands to work and get to meet each individual vendor as they come to setup.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Of course, birth a day wouldn't be complete without a few unexpected highlights like Zip and Pip, the donkeys.

SPEAKER_04 6:14

We have two donkeys, Zip and Pip, that are here with us today. Saying hi to everybody. Um, they do weddings, parties, birthday parties, um, they have pack saddles, they carry drinks, um, and then we do cart rides as well. So they do all kinds of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

And yes, they were absolutely a hit.

SPEAKER_04 6:34

I think it's just a great day to bring everybody together, um, have a lot of fun, smiles. It's really hot, so the splash pad is awesome. Um, but yeah, it's just a really fun day for the birthday community. I always love the parade. The parade is super fun. We rode our horses in the parade today, um, but seeing all the floats and stuff and all the kids super excited is really fun.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

We also stop by the booth ran by the House of Neighborly Service, a nonprofit that supports individuals and families in crisis.

SPEAKER_05 7:10

Oh, birthday means that we get to connect with all these wonderful community members, um, show our support for them, show our support for the town, and I think for the community it just means connection and being together and celebrating this incredible town.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

Their booth took a playful approach to a serious mission.

SPEAKER_05 7:29

We are playing cornhole with toilet paper rolls. At HS, we typically give out a lot of toilet paper to people who are in need, and what a fun way to represent that by trying to get some toilet paper in the hole.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

That mission includes food, clothing, and emergency financial support for local families.

SPEAKER_05 7:47

We offer basic needs and some financial support for those who are in need of that and going through a situational crisis. So we're talking about food, clothing, um, utilities assistance, gas assistance, things like that.

SPEAKER_02 8:04

From new businesses just getting started to longtime residents to volunteers and nonprofits. Birth the day is different for everyone. But the theme is the same: people showing up for each other, for their neighbors, for their town. And it's something you don't have to explain to people who live here. They already feel it. Thanks for listening to the Birth at Beat Podcast. I'm your host, Trent Bootish, and we'll see you all next time.