Trying to lure business back to downtown a decade ago, the little town of Lafayette used a tried-and-true networking technique and invited the world out for breakfast. Specifically, for a bowl of oatmeal, at a festival that included a fun-run, a baking contest and a health fair that ultimately caught the attention of the Quaker Oats Co. Ten years later, the Lafayette Oatmeal Festival is still going strong in Old Town. This year, the doors open at 8 a.m. Jan. 14 at Pioneer Elementary School, at the corner of Baseline and Public roads, and the 5K Quicker Quaker – a Bolder Boulder qualifying race – gets going at 9:30 a.m. (Get the details at discoverlafayette.com.) If the idea of a bowl of rolled oats with your choice of 145 toppings – or all of them – stirred in isn’t enough to get you going, Lafayette’s full menu of other fun will surely draw you in.
