Lyons businesses bare all

Businesses in the flood-devastated town of Lyons strip down for a fundraiser calendar

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In January, three months after the waters of the North and South St. Vrain creeks flooded their banks and overwhelmed the Town of Lyons, physical therapist Bronwyn Muldoon’s business was still struggling in the wake of 2013’s historic flooding.

“I talked to other businesses in town and it was the same thing — we were back in town, but we weren’t back to normal,” says Muldoon, owner of Lyons Physical Therapy. “I wanted to fundraise, but I also wanted to promote business and at the same time I wanted to have fun doing it.”

And one morning while she was running, the idea came her: she’d organize an “au naturale” calendar — local folks in the nude — with proceeds going to families and businesses still struggling to rebuild.

“You know how sometimes your brain just goes,” Muldoon says of the flow of thoughts that often deluge the mind during a run. “I don’t know how it came to me but I thought, wow, this is something that would catch someone’s eye, and I thought it would be fun, too — and it was.”

As a physical therapist, Muldoon gets the opportunity to hear many of her patients speak of their struggles postflood.

“I hear their stories and…” she pauses for a moment. “You just cry for them inside because you don’t know how to to help them.”

But Muldoon knew she had to do something.

“My original thought was to pitch [the idea of a nude calendar] to the health and wellness [businesses in Lyons] because we’re all caregivers, and that’s what the community still needs is caregivers,” says Muldoon.

She ran the idea past her sisters and then her husband, who gave his blessing for Muldoon to strip down in the name of rebuilding their town.

“Once I got their backing … I thought, OK, this isn’t such a crazy idea,” Muldoon says.

And really, it’s not such a crazy idea.

Across the country, tasteful, humorous nude calendars have become a common way for groups to raise money. For a decade the Vail Valley Charitable Fund promoted the Vail Undressed Calendar, which benefited people living or working in Eagle County who are struggling financially due to a medical crisis. Photographs for these calendars never included full frontal nudity and always featured Vail residents doing something they love — cycling, skiing or engaged in something related to their occupation.

This is the tactic that Muldoon employed for the Lyons calendar. In total, 16 businesses are represented in the 15-month calendar. Each “model” is photographed doing what they love from chiropractics to Pilates to playing violin.

Muldoon initially approached health businesses about the idea and was met with resounding support. The calendar ended up with eight pictures representing health and wellness businesses in Lyons. Muldoon and her husband took the majority of the pictures.

Muldoon wanted the calendar to contain scenes that showed devastation from the flood. Two pictures show residents standing in front of their homes as they are being lifted to meet new flood standards.

Muldoon’s own contribution to the calendar is a picture of her running — a snowflake covering her left breast — past the crumpled shelter at Meadow Park, a light dusting of snow covering the scenery behind her.

Muldoon says calendars can be purchased for $30 each at four locations in Lyons — The Stone Cup, The Barking Dog, Lyons ReRuns and The White Lion.

A full $20 from each calendar purchased goes to the Lyons Community Foundation who then gives the money to Lyons Emergency Assistance Funding. From there, checks will be written to residents who have applied to the foundation for flood assistance.

When asked about how they determined the cost of the calendars, Muldoon responds, “Well, we thought, we are naked.”

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com