Fort Collins Colorado Visitors Guide | Activities | Lodging | Events

Visual Arts

Old Town abounds with shops and galleries featuring the work of local artists, craftsmen and photographers. You can get around and meet them all at First Friday Gallery Walk. The first Friday evening of each month, enjoy receptions at more than a dozen galleries, with refreshments and some of their finest work on display, from 6 to 9pm. The Fort Collins Museum of Art and the Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center also participate in First Friday, while some galleries also hold family-oriented Second Saturday events as well. Maps are available throughout Old Town.

Music & Dance

For the widest array of classical music and dance options, visit Fort Collins between September and May. That's when Canyon Concert Ballet, the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, the Front Range Chamber Players and the Larimer Chorale all resent their seasons, and the CSU music department stages recitals and concerts. Other chorale and instrumental groups perform year-round, and summer brings a variety of performers out to street festivals, under the stars or over the lunch hour. A number of clubs and smaller venues bring in touring acts ranging from jazz to hip-hop and everything in between.

In Fort Collins, dance is not just a spectator sport. Even if you've never cut a rug in your life, there are many opportunities to learn some new steps. Friends of Traditional Dance specialize in both lively folk dancing and elegant balls featuring Viennese waltzes. Held on the first and third Saturday night of each month at City Park Center, with live music, contra dances are open to the public with free lessons in the featured steps an hour before the event. Friday is Tango night Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, Colorado at the Mason's Lodge, when Tango Fort Collins offers free introductory lessons and a fun-filled evening of smoldering steps for everyone. If salsa or swing is more your speed, the Jumpin" Jive Cats are high-energy performers offering dance lessons and regular events.

Performing Arts

All the world's a stage - at least it seems like that in Fort Collins. A little light musical? A meal with your entertainment? Cutting-edge drama with nationally known visiting artists? Or an original drama performed by talented members of the community? The curtain rises on it all, at venues ranging from the Bas Bleu Theatre space in a re-claimed historic machine shop by the river, to the Lincoln Center, Fort Collins' premier arts venue. On any given Friday night, the center could be hosting a touring Broadway show, an original drama by a local playwright, two or three exhibits by local artists, and a fund-raising event for nonprofit organization. The MiniTheatre is home to the city's longest running community theatre group, Open Stage Theatre, and the lobbies double as intimate gallery spaces.

The Ranch

Big-name entertainment comes to the big Budweiser Event Center at the Larimer County Fairgrounds, known as The Ranch, just south of Fort Collins.

Public Art

Since 1995, Fort Collins has required one percent of the construction budget for any large project to be spend on art in the spaces, and art to be incorporated into the design of smaller projects. The results can be seen all around town, from the whimsical "foot" bridge over Spring Creek on Drake Road to the growing collection of sculptures around Lincoln Center.

Festivals

Fort Collins loves a good festival, and we throw some dandies throughout the year. From the St. Patrick's Day Parade to the Father's Day 5K run through downtown, the Spring PowWow and Indian Market to the Larimer County Fair at The Ranch, The Taste of Fort Collins to the New West Fest in Old Town, and the Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair and Oktoberfest coming up in the fall, things stay pretty lively on the streets of the Fort. And that's not even counting First night, the family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration that showcases local performers all night long.

Free Art

Art budget a little tight? Then Fort Collins is the place for you. Few, if any, of our local museums charge admission, so you can get your free art fix at the galleries on the CSU campus, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Lincoln Center or the Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center anytime. Look for free performances by local bands in Old Town Square, outside at Lincoln Center or at coffee houses around town, and local author readings and lectures throughout the year. Visit www.visitftcollins.com for more information.

Art In Action

Transformer Cabinet Mural Project
A collaboration between the Fort Collins Art in Public Places and the City's Utilities Department, this project tackles graffiti on utility equipment while creating artful objects. The Utility Department selects the cabinets that are vandalized and local artists are selected through open call. Selected artists work with the project team to develop mural concepts for their cabinets. Busy, active compositions are required to deter graffiti. The city prepares and primes the cabinets for the artists and applies a protective ant-graffiti coat over the complete murals. Ninety cabinets total have been painted in the five years the project has been ongoing.

Pedestrian Paver Project
For the past eight years, the Art in Public Places Program has held yearly open competitions to solicit drawings from local children ages 3-18. The themes of the drawings are life in Fort Collins or transportation. Selected drawings are sandblasted into 16" square granite pavers by Fort Collins Monument and Stone. The pavers are then placed in sidewalks around the city as repairs are made by the Engineering Department.