AURORA | Commuters cruising down the portion of East Colfax Avenue in Original Aurora can’t see what’s going on in the theaters, studios and galleries that line the strip.
They don’t see the award-winning stage productions, innovative dance routines or vivid paintings and colorful sculptures. But this weekend, the artists, vendors and business owners in the Aurora Cultural Arts District will work to change that invisibility. The annual Aurora Arts Festival slated for Saturday will see the city’s creative talent taking to the streets with their music, theater and craft.
“When people drive by on Colfax and they see something happening outside, it has an impact on them,” said Aurora Fox Executive Producer Charles Packard. During the festival, the Fox crew will offer stage combat lessons, kids costumes and other theater-related activities in the open-air setting of Fletcher Plaza. “It looks like it will be a much bigger festival this year and we’re excited to participate.”
This summer’s festival, titled simply “Play,” comes at a critical point for Aurora’s 16-block arts district along East Colfax. Earlier this year, Tracy Weil took over as the manager of the recently redubbed Aurora Cultural Arts District. The “Play” festival is a chance for Weil to share his vision with the larger community, and a place for new arrivals to say hello to their neighbors.
“To me, this is the first step to start creating that momentum that will take the district to the next level,” said Weil, who helped found the River North Art District in 2005 and has since gone on to play a key role in building the 40 West Arts District in Lakewood. “I’m looking forward to the Aurora district celebrating what it is. The performing arts are really huge for this district, and a lot of other districts don’t have that. I’m really looking forward to bringing that to the surface.”
The performing arts theme will play a big role in this year’s festival, as crews from the Fox, the Vintage Theatre, the Ignite Theatre Company, the Athena Project and the Aurora Symphony Orchestra take to the outdoor stage at Fletcher Plaza starting at noon on Saturday. Those performances will complement vendors, outdoor artists and free activities up and down Colfax. There will even be a beer garden near the main stage.
“We’ll also have food trucks, art activities for kids, music,” Weil said. “We’re also going to have a tour of the locations. We’re trying to give people an opportunity to get to know the district.”
That includes getting to know some high-profile ACAD members who are pretty new to the area. The Kim Robards Dance studio opened up in its new home base on East Colfax Avenue and Florence Street last month, and the troupe has already kicked off its new residency with a dance routine aptly titled “Aurora.” The upcoming festival will offer the company a chance to expand its contacts in its new community and get the word out to its close neighbors.
The studio will offer free dance lessons throughout the day and perform “Aurora” in its new studio space at 4 p.m.
“I think it will be a nice moving way to end their day,” said founder Kim Robards. Robards, who moved her company between different locations in Denver for decades, said the troupe’s new home in the Aurora district offers a new sense of belonging. “I feel more a sense of community here than anywhere we have been in 26 years. I’m hoping that Saturday will be a day where new people will be out and about; there’s going to be so much great energy throughout the neighborhood and the arts district.”
For Weil, the role of the neighborhood is just as important as the plays, the paintings and the dance routines. The district’s diversity is part of what sets it apart from the other, trendy districts in Denver and beyond, Weil said, and that identity will play into the celebration on Saturday.
“At my first meet and greet, a gentleman came by from the African Community Center,” Weil said, recalling that initial conversation that touched on the center’s artist members. “The Community Center’s sewing club is bringing out some stuff to sell to try to raise money. It’s that kind of stuff that starts a momentum going.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com