Even before engaged couple Annie Wilcox and Christian Parker moved to Golden, they heard about the annual Summer Jam fundraiser from their friends’ parents.
Golden Civic Foundation hosts bands and food trucks at the Colorado Railroad Museum for a summertime celebration. Wilcox and Parker said they like trains and live music, so they thought they’d check it out.
They had so much fun that they’ve now been to four or five Summer Jams in a row, they said at this year’s event.
Wilcox and Parker said attending and supporting Summer Jam also means more now that they live in Golden, describing how they love supporting the community and visiting with their neighbors.
And that’s exactly what organizers from the Golden Civic Foundation were hoping for.
“It’s everything we love about Golden,” GCF Board President Joel Christman said of the annual Summer Jam. “Local, music and friends.”
Trains and rain
On June 25, more than 600 people spent their partly rainy evening on the Colorado Railroad Museum campus, drinking beer, listening to local bands jam out and taking rides on the train. As an added thrill, many of those rides were interrupted by a gang of train robbers – performers from the Miners Alley Performing Arts.
Christman and other organizers confirmed the eighth annual Summer Jam had record ticket sales, which on its own raised $12,000 for its community grant program.
Last month, GCF awarded almost $125,000 to 47 local nonprofits and causes for its 2025 grant cycle.
It is now fundraising for the 2026 grant cycle, which Summer Jam helped with.
Christman and new Executive Director Catherine Withers explained how GCF has received more and bigger grant requests in recent years, with Christman saying, “There’s more need for our grants than we’re able to fund.”
GCF tries to fund at least a portion of every grant application, which is why Summer Jam and the fall gala — GCF’s two big fundraisers — are so important, he continued.
“The more we get people involved (at these fundraisers), the more it helps go back into the Golden community,” Christman said.
‘Local, music and friends’
One way of doing that is by bringing in new attendees, like Golden’s Annelise Loevlie and her family.
Loevlie said she and her family members hadn’t been to Summer Jam before, but heard about it through their friends in the Rapidgrass band, who played at the June 25 event.
However, Loevlie said they’d be willing to come back, either to Summer Jam or the Colorado Railroad Museum in general. Her family loves the trains, so the Colorado Railroad Museum was the perfect venue, she added.
Loevlie said she knew the event was a fundraiser but didn’t know much about what it supported. Even still, Summer Jam was a lot of fun, she continued, as it’s at a good time of the evening for families, and the beer and music were excellent.
Christman and Withers thanked all the community sponsors who helped make the June 25 event happen and all the companies and organizations that provided food, beer, bike parking, “train robbers” and more.
In addition to fundraising for local causes, Christman and Withers also emphasized how Summer Jam was about strengthening community connections and celebrating together, which Withers said GCF does year-round through other endeavors.
She encouraged people to stop by GCF’s new headquarters inside the Golden Welcome Center, to visit the website and to support the Oct. 18 fall gala.
For more information, visit goldencivicfoundation.org.
Click through additional photos from the June 25 event here:
On June 25, Summer Jam attendees take a photo with a rainbow and a Rio Grande train engine Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Siblings Gianna, 4, and Declan Bailey, 7, run through the rain with their umbrellas during the June 25 Summer Jam event at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
On June 25, two Summer Jam attendees take shelter from the rain under the Rustler’s Rooste food truck. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
As the digital display changes slides behind them, Marafiki band members perform at Golden Civic Foundation’s annual Summer Jam fundraiser June 25 at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Marafiki performs at Golden Civic Foundation’s annual Summer Jam fundraiser June 25 at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
On June 25, young Summer Jam attendees ride the train around the Colorado Railroad Museum campus. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Hundreds of people gather at the Colorado Railroad Museum June 25 for Golden Civic Foundation’s annual Summer Jam fundraiser. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Golden-based New Terrain Brewing hosts a beer tent at the June 25 Summer Jam event at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Rapidgrass performs at Golden Civic Foundation’s annual Summer Jam fundraiser June 25 at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Rapidgrass performs at Golden Civic Foundation’s annual Summer Jam fundraiser June 25 at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Evening clouds move over the Colorado Railroad Museum’s outdoor exhibits during the June 25 Summer Jam event. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
The setting sun illuminates a section of South Table Mountain as people leave the June 25 Summer Jam event at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Credit: Corinne Westeman