On June 13, 2021, friends celebrated the life of Andy Hanscom, a long time resident of Nederland for close to 40 years.

Andy was an avid fan of music and was loved by everyone who met him. He worked for Nedfest and Frozen Dead Guy Days for almost 20 years. He worked for several years at Peaceful Security, alongside longtime friend Chris Perret.

Mary Mead, who is an event planner and works in music, joined by Andy’s closest friends, decided to host an event Andy would have been proud of.

They were gifted with a beautiful day. A true Colorado bluebird sky at the Caribou Room. Peter Fiori, who employed Andy for four years, donated the Caribou Room so Andy’s local friends and family could pay tribute to such an incredible man.

Local musicians came together to play a tribute to Andy by playing some of his favorites. A wide variety of music began with a jazz tribute by his friend Jon “Blackdog” Ridnell and Jon’s son Miles. Smooth Money Gesture returned to the stage once more after retiring as they were friends of Andy’s, and played some killer jams. Ben Sproul, who spearheaded the music for the day, finished with an incredible epic jam with fellow musicians Andrew Lunsford, Colin Holmes, Otis Lande, and Scott Llewyn. They played an eclectic mix of some of Andy’s favorites including the Ramones, the Dead, Zappa, the Allman Brothers, and much more.

His friends from Boulder and his employer from Long’s Gardens brought a beautiful arrangement of irises, lovely photos, and brought enough iris bulbs to give away to each local who attended the tribute to plant, as a way to be reminded of Andy’s love for nature and flowers.

Andy loved to volunteer for local organizations and believed in feeding people, which he did over many years of his life. His local friends of Nederland decided to collect donations and collected $1,100, which they donated in Andy’s name to the Nederland Food Pantry.

The event was filled with such love and was such a success, they plan to host Andy’s Day each year to pay tribute to a dear friend who was an incredible, one- of-a-kind, truly amazing human. Each year all will celebrate with great food, amazing music, and give back by raising money for the Nederland Food Pantry.

We know Andy was with us that day and we feel we made him proud. He will be missed by all who knew him.