Fine Arts Center Launches City As A Venue Program To Bring The Arts To Outdoor Locations Throughout Colorado Springs

Thea??Colorado Springsa??Fine Arts Centera??at Colorado College has announced City as a Venue, a new program designed to bring theater, dance, music, and more to outdoor locations across Colorado Springs in summer 2021.

"Making the arts accessible to everyone is an important part of our mission," said FAC Director Idris Goodwin. "As health guidelines and restrictions are updated and more of our community gets vaccinated, we are optimistic about the prospect of gathering once again to enjoy the arts."

City as a Venue programming will begin in June and run through early October, presenting a robust and diverse calendar of outdoor and socially distanced arts experiences for the community. In addition to programming planned for a new FAC outdoor stage at the corner of Dale St and Cascade Ave, City as a Venue will present programming across the city at locations such as Acacia Park, Concrete Coyote and local community centers (including Deerfield Hills, Hillside, and Meadows Park).

Programming will include:

• Saturdays in the Park with the FAC: Saturday afternoons (starting in late June) at the Acacia Park bandshell, including live performances, art demonstrations and local food trucks.
• FAC Theatre School: Summer camps for ages 5-18 will take place June-July on the FAC outdoor stage (registration required).
• Front Range Fables: This series of plays for young audiences written by local playwrights is based on historical events from the Pikes Peak region. Performed Saturdays (June 26-August 7) at venues throughout the city, with art activities from Bemis School of Art (FREE).
• "She Loves Me," a charming musical romantic comedy performed by the FAC Youth Repertory Ensemble, based on the same source material that inspired the movie "You've Got Mail." July 29-Aug 1 on the FAC Outdoor Stage (ticketed).
• "Working," a musical based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book of interviews with American workers that paints a vivid portrait of the men and women the world so often takes for granted. Aug 24-Sept 5 on the FAC Outdoor Stage (ticketed; free tickets reserved at each performance for community frontline workers).
• Art & Acting in the Forest: Bemis School of Art will provide opportunities for children to explore painting, printmaking, mixed media projects and theatre games in the great outdoors with a series of camps at La Foret Conference and Retreat Center June-July (registration required).
• Plein Air Painting: Adults can enjoy an outdoor art class as well, with this Bemis course focused on plein air painting in the Colorado landscape (registration required).

Additional events from regional artists will be added to the schedule in the coming months. The full performance schedule for City as a Venue will be updated throughout the summer; visit fac.coloradocollege.edu for details. Events at Acacia Park and community centers are free of charge. FAC camps and classes require advance registration; theatre performances at the FAC outdoor stage are ticketed.