The building at 1106 Manitou Avenue covers 1,288 square feet on one story. It was built in 1967, and over the decades it has been an auto shop, a grocery store and a convenience store, according to The Gazette. This spring the facings came off its two old garage doors to let in natural light and make room for open markets. Through December 27 it is a holiday market.
The Manitou Art Center has turned the former mini-mart at Tubby's Turnaround into "Tubby's Winterlude." The pop-up is open Friday through Sunday and sells work by local artists, handmade ornaments, Christmas trees and wreaths, warm drinks and other locally made gifts. It also has music and hands-on craft sessions. So the season now has a second center of gravity. The Wheeler Town Clock still anchors the downtown traditions, and the west end of Manitou Avenue now has its own weekend-long reason to stop.
A corner store whose next chapter is still open
Tubby's has a recent history that explains why this pop-up exists. In May, the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade bought the store in a deal announced jointly with the nonprofit Catalyst Fund for Manitou. The Gazette reported that the sale closed a chapter of more than 40 years under Clara and Norma Robb, who had run the store since the mid-1980s. Many locals simply called Clara "Mom."
Penny Arcade owner John Weiss co-founded the Colorado Springs Independent in 1993. He started the Catalyst Fund to give low-cost financing and free consulting to community-minded entrepreneurs who want to buy legacy businesses from founders ready to sell. He told The Gazette that Manitou Springs is a so-called food desert with few grocery options close by. His long-term goal is for Tubby's to become a community food hub, possibly a larger grocery store or a food co-op. The Tubby's Turnaround site says the direction is intentionally being shaped with community input. Carrie Perkins of the Catalyst Fund told The Gazette the aim is "hearing what people want so we can build around that."
The art center's listing names the Penny Arcade and "the soon-to-be-realized Tubby's 2027" as sponsors. It also says the market supports a range of local nonprofits. For two months, residents can spend their weekends in a building whose future use is still being decided with their input.
The Penny Arcade has made one change of its own since spring. Its new snack bar opened in August with paninis, soft-serve, cookies, real-fruit smoothies, fresh-squeezed lemonade and limeade, iced tea and Arnold Palmers, The Gazette reported.
What's on at Winterlude from here to December 27
The core is the Saturday market, open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The art center has also posted a class schedule. The sessions below all take place at Tubby's Turnaround, 1106 Manitou Avenue, and are listed on the Manitou Art Center's Winterlude page.
| Date | Time | Class | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 20 | 10 a.m. | Decorate a Wreath | $50 |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | 6 p.m. | Collage Night | $10 |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Noon | Make a Classic Holiday Garland | $5 suggested donation |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Noon | Gingerbread Decorating for Kids | $10 for 4 cookies |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | 10 a.m. | Decorate a Wreath | $50 |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | 6 p.m. | Gingerbread Decorating for Adults | $25 |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Noon | Paint an Ornament | $10 suggested donation |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | 10 a.m. | Sew Paper Gift Tags | $10 |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | 6 p.m. | Drink & Draw | $25 |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | Noon | Knitting 101 | Free, donations welcomed |
There is also music. The Iowa is selling tickets to a Tubby's Winterlude concert on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 6:30 p.m., featuring Ray Wolff, Autumnal and Al Ameda. The art center says Winterlude will end on Sunday, Dec. 27, with a small end-of-year celebration.
How the west end lines up with the Town Clock
Winterlude's dates overlap the downtown calendar on several of the season's biggest days. Taken together, these weekends have something happening at both ends of Manitou Avenue. Downtown dates come from Visit Manitou's holiday page unless noted.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25: The Christmas tree lighting at the Wheeler Town Clock runs 5 to 7 p.m., with Santa. The same day, the Town Clock starts taking letters to Santa. Send yours by Dec. 19 with a return address. Letter forms are available at the Visitors Center, 354 Manitou Ave.
- Nov. 27 to 29: Miramont Castle hosts Victorian Christmas all three days. Saturday, Nov. 28, is Small Business Saturday, which is also a Winterlude market day. On Sunday the 29th, the garland class runs at noon.
- Sundays, Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve: Christmas Brass plays downtown every Sunday.
- Sunday, Dec. 6: The kids' gingerbread session at Tubby's starts at noon. That evening, the Manitou Christmas Parade steps off at 6 p.m. and runs along Manitou Avenue from Ruxton Avenue to El Paso Boulevard.
- Dec. 11 and 12: Adult gingerbread decorating at Tubby's is Friday night at 6 p.m. The Kiwanis Club's Breakfast with Santa at City Hall is Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m.
- Dec. 24 and Dec. 31: Santa returns to the Town Clock on Christmas Eve. The AdAmAn fireworks light up Pikes Peak on New Year's Eve.
The parking calendar decides the easy days
The city's own calendar matters as much as either event list. The City of Manitou Springs' Nov. 6 newsletter sets out a "Park Free, Shop Local" schedule.
- Nov. 27 and Nov. 28: Free all day on the streets and in the Canon, Hiawatha and Dillon lots.
- Nov. 29: The first two hours are free in the same areas.
- Dec. 12 through Dec. 26: The first two hours are free in the same areas.
To get the free two hours, use the Honk Mobile app or the nearest kiosk. Standard rates resume once the two hours are up. KRDO reported the same dates.
These windows line up closely with the calendar above. Thanksgiving weekend's Friday and Saturday are fully free, which covers Small Business Saturday, the Miramont weekend and a Winterlude market day. Sunday the 29th, with garland-making and Christmas Brass, gets the two-hour window. The Dec. 12 to 26 stretch begins on the morning of Breakfast with Santa and covers Christmas Eve at the Town Clock and Saturday, Dec. 26, the last Winterlude market day. It ends the day before Winterlude's closing celebration on Sunday, Dec. 27. Parade night, Dec. 6, is not on the city's free-parking list.
Two street changes arriving with the season
Two items in the same newsletter will change how some residents get around town.
The first is Lovers Lane. The city expects to give the community advance notice and begin site preparation in late November or early December, and to close the road fully to through traffic in December. Residents and businesses will keep local access, and detour signs will direct other traffic to alternate routes. The work replaces a deteriorating retaining wall. Wall demolition and construction, along with drainage and utility work, are scheduled for January through March 2027. Roadway reconstruction follows in April, and the target reopening is May 2027. The city says the timeline depends on the weather and may change.
The second is new striping on Canon and Ruxton avenues, two projects the city says it is moving forward with. On Canon Avenue near the Cliff House and Arcade area, the city is adding a bike lane and adjusting lane widths. That will remove several on-street parking stalls, and the city cites minimum passing widths for fire vehicles and fewer conflicts from vehicles loading in travel lanes. On Ruxton Avenue, three spaces at Osage Avenue are coming out. City engineering reviews found that turning vehicles were being pushed into oncoming traffic there. Both corridors are part of the downtown loop that holiday visitors use, so anyone who parks near the Arcade or turns off Osage will find a different layout once the work is done.
Winterlude closes on Dec. 27. Since May, the Penny Arcade and the Catalyst Fund have been asking residents what the store at 1106 Manitou Avenue should become.
At High Country Realty, we follow changes along Manitou Avenue, from the west end at Tubby's to the striping by the Arcade, because they shape what it's like to live on these blocks. If you own a home near the west end and want to know where it stands this winter, Get Your Home Valuation and we'll walk you through it.
