Peace of A Dream

08/19/2025

Dearest Makenzie, Happy Earth Birthday! Although we can't see you, we feel your presence in every sunrise and sunset, every butterfly and dragonfly, and especially in random acts of kindness. We miss your beautiful smile, but want you to know you are on our minds and always in our hearts. Love you, Aunt Jan💜

08/19/2024

Take a moment today, Makenzie's birthday to remeber what joy she brought to our lives. Can't believe it has already ben one year since Makenziefest! Stay tuned for further updates from Peace of a Dream, A Dream of Peace, things ae being planned! Happy Birthday dear Makenzie, we love you, we miss you, we think about you everyday and feel your beautiful spirit around us!

06/27/2024

Thank you E470 Foundation for helping us fufill our mission!

06/25/2024

08/22/2023

Mackenzie’s Dream Festival was a huge success! Over 350 people in attendance, 8 bands, 3 food trucks and we raised over $12,000 dollars for the Peace of a Dream, A Dream of Peace Foundation! Below are links to the news stories Channel 7 and 9 put out. https://www.9news.com/mobile/article/news/local/music-festival-late-teen-driving-safety/73-004c7dd0-6fc9-4b42-97d1-8ad3f744a260
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/video/colorado-parents-using-story-to-spread-awareness-on-safe-driving-for-teens/
Each Crash Avoidance class costs $180.00. So even though we surpassed our goal we are still accepting donations for the foundation. The more we raise the more kids we keep safe on the road. The go fund me is still open on the website https://www.makenziesdream.org/
Or text MAK to 53555 Those funds go straight to the South Metro Safety Foundation and they will match each donation that comes to them. So happy we got to celebrate Makenzie’s 30th in such a joyful and fun way! Makenzie’s Dream Festival is over, but Makenzie’s spirit and the mission of the foundation live on!

08/18/2023

Drum Roll Please!!! Here is the band line up for tomorrow and one more incredible Makenzie story!
MAKENZIE’S DREAM FESTIVAL - AUGUST 19, 2023
Galen Crader 11:00am-11:30am
James Allocco Maclain Hunter 11:45am-12:15pm
TEZCA 12:45pm-1:15pm
Koion Kitten1:45pm-2:15pm
En Tu Oblivion 2:45pm-3:30pm
Saddle Rock 4:00pm-5:00pm
Truly Fine Citizens 5:30pm-6:15pm
MoonRadish 6:45pm-7:45pm
The Garden of Eden 8:15pm-9:45pm

This story was shared with me by Makenzie’s friend Neusha:
Mackenzie always brought me along to shows and introduced me to so many different artists! It was my first time seeing Lotus live, and I think it was the first time for Makenzie too. We were able to enjoy the show with a bunch of our loved ones, and one of our best friends Becca said if they play the song “Colorado” she was going to cry. I told Makenzie I wasn’t familiar with that song, but she said,”You’ll know it if they play it.”
Then as they started to play Colorado, the energy shifted throughout the venue. A wave of love washed over the crowd and you could see tears start to fall down people’s faces and everyone hugging each other. I looked at Makenzie and asked her if this was the song. She shined her beautiful smile at me and said yes. Before I knew it, I started to tear up. She gave me the biggest hug and I felt so much love and comfort in her arms. It was the first time I ever cried at a show. We stood there dancing and hugging for quite some time. Mackenzie always honored whatever emotions you were feeling. She was amazing at making you feel loved in any given moment. Her love carries on!
A perfect story to end our journey to Makenziefest! See you there!

08/18/2023

I can’t believe it is almost here! Tomorrow is Makenzie’s Dream Festival! We are so excited to celebrate the life of this sweet and amazing young woman who was taken from us too soon! However, tomorrow won’t be filled with sadness and regret. It will be filled with love, joy, laughter, good music and good friends, just the way Makenzie would have wanted it! Wear tie-dye or purple if you’ve got it. A correction from yesterday’s post. There will not be a raffle, because you don’t have to pay for a ticket. Instead there will be a free give away between bands. The number on your wrist band will count as your entry! Bring your smiles and your dance moves and we will see you tomorrow! It will be EPIC!!!

08/17/2023

Makenziefest is the day after tomorrow! Are you ready? Here are some tips for the day:
Event Hours 10:00-10:00
Free Yoga class at 10:00.
Bands start at 11:00
When you arrive, find the volunteer table and get your purple wristband and raffle tickets.
There will be giveaways between bands, and you must be present to win.
If you need help or have questions look for people wearing security buttons or Tree of Life buttons they are there to help.
There will be portable bathrooms
There will be 3 food trucks
Bring your own chairs and/or blankets to sit on, and a picnic lunch if you want to
Check out the website for all the details. https://www.makenziesdream.org/
Be prepared to make some memories!

08/16/2023

Makenziefest is Saturday! Just a few reminders if you are new to my posts. Makenziefest is a free event celebrating the life of Makenzie Leikam. She tragically lost her life in a car accident 10 years ago this past June. On August 19th she would have been 30. Her parents started a 501c3, or nonprofit, in her name many years ago. The foundation is called Peace of a Dream, A Dream of Peace. It was Makenzie’s dream to hold a music festival one day, and her parents are making that dream come true. The nonprofit they run is to provide Crash Avoidance classes for at-risk youth. They are in a partnership with the South Metro Safety Foundation, who will conduct the classes. The festival is the Celebration of Makenzie’s life and an opportunity for all of us who knew her, to honor her memory by enjoying music with our friends and family. We hope to make new friends who share Makenzie's dream. The event will include 9 bands. The foundation is to help promote safer driving strategies for our youth and to hopefully prevent this kind of tragedy from happening to other families. We are accepting donations at the event and on line to help fund these classes. Each class costs $180.00 per student. If you have any questions about the event or the foundation, please feel free to message me. or check out the website https://www.makenziesdream.org/
Thank you for helping to support this important mission, and we hope to see you at Makenziefest where we can all make new memories, listen to music, and hopefully watch a sunset together.

08/15/2023

In some ways you could consider this the second Makenziefest. The first took place 10 years ago, right after she passed and was a celebration of her life. It was held outside at Hudson Gardens. Everyone wore tie-dye. We sang songs like Freebird and Brown Eyed Girl, Mackenzie’s songs. We told stories about Makenzie and how much she meant to all of us, how much we would miss her. We made abstract neon trees to set on tables. Each had quotes Makenzie had shared with us, like “Never miss a sunrise or a sunset.” So we know when there is one that is especially beautiful, Makenzie is there. We know her spirit lives on in the stars, the sun, the trees, and in nature all around us. Butterflies embody her free spirit, and each summer, a yellow one comes to visit our backyard and I feel her there. She has not left me for one day since that fateful day 10 years ago. Makenziefest, THIS SATURDAY, is another opportunity to get together with friends, family, and people inspired by her life to celebrate the beautiful being and soul that is Makenzie. Join us! More information can be found about the festival and how to make a donation to the Peace of a Dream, a Dream of Peace foundation at https://www.makenziesdream.org/ See you there!

08/10/2023

10 more days till Makenziefest! Remember more information, and the opportunity to donate can be found at https://www.makenziesdream.org/
As I am sure you can tell by now, Mackenzie was a very special person! So are all her friends, she had many, but spent most of her time with a small group including Mara, Nuesha, Brie and Summer. Our story today is shared by Mara. This picture is of a forget-me-knot Makenzie gave to Mara in high school. Mara thinks she made it in her adventure class. Mackenzie told Mara it was a symbol that they would be friends forever, and that they would never forget about each other. It is clear Mara and her other friends have never forgotten about Makenzie, and everytime we see a sunrise or sunset, we know Makenzie hasn’t forgotten about all of us.