After volunteering today and doing some work this afternoon, I made my way to downtown Boise. Though I had driven through the city briefly on my way in, I felt the free night parking was motivation enough to get out and walk around. The downtown is much bigger than I expected. The larger building mixed in with the smaller restaurants are scattered through the grid-like streets. As I made my way through the pedestrian only streets and plazas of town, I started hearing live music. Though I couldn't be positive it was live, I followed the sound to a garden amphitheater outside a very modern looking building. As I approached the event, wondering why this was not on any of my searches for Boise events, I saw information with the starting and ending times. Just my luck, the ending was in three minutes. The security guard must have seen the disappointment register on my face as he told me I could come back in 2 weeks.
I told him my situation and began asking him what the modern building behind him was. He told me about the JUMP (Jack's Urban Meeting Place) which is Boise's community center (does our downtown have a community center?). The building is open to and made for the public as much of the space and events are free. He encouraged me to walk around the building and told me about the slides at the top of the building which I could come back and ride tomorrow (they have limited hours). The building has plenty of outdoor space to sit and do work or meet with friends or stare at the nearby skyline. Tons of indoor meeting spaces, maker spaces, a community kitchen, a dance studio - the list is quite impressive. This super modern downtown wonderland is simply amazing. What a progressive and beautiful space which seems to offer so much at little to no cost! When so much of the world seems to be all about making money - here is a place once can just be and maybe learn something along the way.
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