NATIONAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES MONTH 2023

Photo by Alexander Grey, a hand with swirled brightly colored pain on the palm with a purple background behind

Artober

October is National Arts & Humanities Month (NAHM)—a collective recognition of the importance of culture in America.

(Photo: by Alexander Grey)

The purpose of this month-long celebration of the arts, also known as Artober, is to:

  • FOCUS on equitable access to the arts at local, state, and national levels

  • ENCOURAGE individuals, organizations, and diverse communities to participate in the arts

  • ALLOW governments and businesses to show their support of the arts

  • RAISE public awareness about the positive impact of the arts and humanities in our communities and lives

We want to join the celebration by highlighting some of the features of and events happening in the Greeley Creative District.

Follow us on Facebook (@GreeleyCreativeDistrict) or Instagram (@GreeleyCreativeDistrict) and check back here for updates throughout October!

JOIN THE STAMPEDE TROUPE

The award-winning Stampede Troupe has been bringing music, laughter, and drama to our community for over 50 years and they invite you join them! Come see a show, help build sets, find props, or sew costumes.

Get involved with a community theatre that values your participation:

The Midnight Oil Bookstore

Join The Midnight Oil Bookstore for their next Book-to-Movie Event!

Pick up a copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley to read and then watch the 1931 version of Frankenstein directed by James Whale on 10/24 with fellow readers.

The Midnight Oil is helping cultivate a community of book lovers by teaming up with local businesses to provide literary experiences. For their books-to-film series they are partnering with The Kress Cinema which will host private film screenings for the event every month. Doors will open at 6pm for concessions and socializing and the movie starts at 7pm. 

The Midnight Oil Bookstore is now Northern Colorado's largest used bookstore! With over 18,000 books, including a growing selection of new, this bookstore has a little something for every book lover!

"A town isn't a town without a bookstore." — Neil Gaiman

Working side by side with many community members and organizations The Midnight Oil crew works to be involved with and bring literacy to the community along with fun programming and collaborations.

Greeley Multicultural Festival

Come celebrate the diverse cultures embedded in the fabric of our community on 10/21 during the Greeley Multicultural Festival!

Enjoy showcases presented by members of our diverse community, family entertainment such as music, fashion, food, crafts, poetry, dancing, children's activities, and multicultural ceremonies.

  • When: 11am-4pm, Saturday, October 21

Since 2017, the Greeley Multicultural Festival celebrates the diverse cultures embedded in the fabric of our community.  

“We believe that a true experience of any multicultural festival is achieved when participants are fully engaged with all 5 senses; tasting, listening, seeing, touching, and smelling all cultures in a fun and engaging festival, which then leaves participants feeling more exposed and open-minded towards the eclectic mix of cultures in our community.” — Greeley Multicultural Festival organizers

Live Radio Show

Looking for a fun Halloween event unlike anything else in the area? Be sure to enter THE HOUSE OF SHADOWS on 10/18! 

This nontraditional theatrical production is organized and directed by local writer, comedian and magician Rob Walker.

The House of Shadows is a live radio experience like a mix of the radio shows of the 1930s with podcasting of today. For their fourth show, The House of Shadows will be adapting and performing three tales of terror based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe (Mask of the Red Death), Agatha Christie (The Last Seance), and H.P. Lovecraft (The Statement of Randolph Carter) complete with a full cast and live sound effects! This event is a perfect addition to your "spooky season."

  • What: The House of Shadows Radio Theatre

  • When: Wednesday October 18th 6-7:30 PM

  • Where:  LINC Library (501 8th Ave, Greeley, CO 80631)

  • Tickets: $20. $5 Discount for Students, Seniors, Veterans, Educators

  • Questions?  Contact Rob Walker at robwalkerfilms@gmail.com (970)-576-6714

Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra

Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra

Did you know that The Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra (GPO) is one of only a few orchestras in the United States today to reach the elite status of operating for over a century?

The GPO believes that the quest for beautiful music was a hallmark of those who settled in our area, and so it remains today. The GPO employs musicians from all over Colorado and Southern Wyoming. More than 70% of their orchestra members hold a master’s degree or higher.

Their upcoming concert Portraits of the West: Picturing Utopia, happening 10/14, is a symphonic journey into the history of Weld County and the world premiere of Composer-in-Residence Dylan Fixmer’s Seven Symphonic Portraits: A Weld County Reflection.

Each portrait depicts a different musical journey experienced by historical, contemporary and future generations. From dreams of utopia and the search for knowledge, to struggles with hardship and indifference, this dynamic piece reflects the beauty and challenge of the human experience. Enjoy additional selections such as Hovhaness’ Mysterious Mountain and the triumphant “Jubilee” from Symphonic Sketches by Chadwick.

Before the concert, enjoy a Colorado-themed meal at Aunt Helen’s Café & Wine Bar!

  • What: Portraits of the West: Picturing Utopia

  • When: Saturday, Oct 14th, 7-9pm

  • Where: Union Colony Civic Center (701 10th AvenueGreeley, CO, 80631)

  • Tickets: Purchase tickets online

UNC Play Reading FestivaL

The School of Theatre Arts and Dance’s inaugural Play Reading Festival will explore three works by some of today’s most compelling playwrights October 14-15. Each play will be presented in theatrical-reading style and in a rotation throughout the weekend to give you a chance to see all three titles.

Buy your ticket pass to mix and match play performance times on Saturday or Sunday, or see them all on 1 day!

Everybody

Written by Brandon Jacobs Jenkins | Directed by Ken Womble

Abigail/1702

Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | Directed by Alison Vasquez

The Transmogrification of a High Wire Act

Written by Andrea Moon | Directed by Liza Williams

UNC Day Of Art

You won’t want to miss UNC’s Day of Art, happening Friday, 10/13!

This all-day event presented by UNC’s College of Performing and Visual Arts will feature FREE music, visual art, theatrical performances by students at various venues around Greeley.

Schedule:

Creepy Crawl

Join the downtown Greeley business community for Creepy Crawl happening Friday, 10/13!

Over 30 stores and restaurants will be having specials. Starting at 5pm there will be a scavenger hunt, games, paid workshops and children’s crafts. Prizes will be awarded for the scavenger hunt and children's coloring contest. This event is sponsored by Allo Communications.

Downtown Greeley has a collaborative business community that hosts a variety of unique events throughout the year including the summer FridayFest concert series. To learn more about all of the events and happenings in the downtown, visit the DDA Event Calendar.

Cover of the October issue of Greeley Lifestyle Magazine, a bowl of oysters and a glass of white wine

Savoring the Culinary Arts In Greeley

Every month Greeley Lifestyle Magazine shares personal and business stories from our community to celebrate our city’s unique culture. Their October issue is all about food & drink.

Check it out to find articles about locally grown produce, recipes from local businesses, featured restaurants and how volunteers and organizations are helping keep Weld County fed.

Here are a couple delicious tidbits from their article Greeley's Most App-etizing: Start Your Meal at the Best Local Restaurants, if you are looking for a bite to eat in the downtown:

You can find this free magazine in many businesses around town or online.
Follow Greeley Lifestyle on social media @greeleylifestyle

Artwork by Johanna Mueller, print of a bear and bird with intricate patterns in the fur and feathers

Art Exhibitions at UNC

Did you know that the University of Northern Colorado has three art galleries that are open to the public? Visit campus 5-7pm Thursday, 10/5 to enjoy the reception for one of the current exhibitions: Parallels: A Collection of Prints Inspired by Poems.
Admission is free.

Parallels: A Collection of Prints Inspired by Poems

  • UNC Campus Commons Gallery (Sep 15 - Oct 12)

  • Opening Reception: 5-7pm, 10/5

  • This exhibition brings together 12 poets and 12 printmakers in a conversation between the visual arts and the written word. Based on a process of exchange and response, these works explore themes of domesticity, language and citizenship, natural and constructed worlds and the emotional ties that connect us.

Misplaced works by Lisa Lockman

  • UNC Mariani Gallery (Oct 5 - Nov 16)

  • Digging Deeper, Artist Talk: 5pm, 10/4, Guggenheim Hall 001

  • Opening Reception: 5-6pm, 10/4

  • Lisa Lockman’s interests in ancestry, specifically the women of her paternal side, coupled with new technologies in art and ceramics are the major influences in her current work. The exhibition “Misplaced” celebrates the complexity of our female ancestors who have become lost, misplaced, and even erased with time. It is the entanglement of our ancestry, when we include our maternal lines, that inspires this work. 

Tacit Knowing works by Liz Quan

  • UNC Oak Room Gallery in Crabbe Hall (Sept 29 - Oct 26)

  • Liz Quan’s organic forms rest in the spaces between pattern and randomness, growth and stillness, fragility and strength. These elemental forms create a sense of contemplation and memory through movement, sound, color, and grace. Like shells, stones, or prayer beads, they engage all the senses and touch something fundamental within us. 

UNC’s exhibition program embraces curatorial risk-taking and highlights thought-provoking and socially relevant works created by students, faculty, regionally and nationally recognized artists.

Fox on a Box Traffic Cabinet by: By Julie Marie Dillon

Greeley’s Public Art

Did you know that the City of Greeley has a robust public art program?

The collection consists of over 350 works of rotating indoor art and more than 160 pieces of outdoor art that have been donated, gifted or purchased since 1967.

In 1998 the City of Greeley and City Council made a commitment to enhance the city’s public art collection by adopting a 1% for Art Program. This program sets aside one percent of the cost of new capital improvement projects as funds for acquiring, maintaining and commissioning art.

The most recent additions to the collection are four new traffic cabinet wraps designed by local creatives.

Learn more about the artists, their artwork and where you can find the new traffic cabinets around town on the My Greeley Blog.

Greeley Creative District