US Travel Guide - Boulder

Boulder Entertainment

In Boulder, the idea of a good time usually involves defying the laws of gravity. Whether wandering lonely roads or shooting down a rocky trail straddling a bike, whether scaling steep canyon walls, pushing through the last mile of a marathon, or maneuvering the rapids of a local river, Boulderites always seem to test the limits of mind, body and strength. Winter brings perfect white powder to the Colorado mountains, creating the ultimate skiing and snowboarding environment.

Home to the world famous Bolder Boulder 10K, the renowned endurance road race, the Red Zinger Classic, and the University of Colorado (CU) champion ski and mountain biking teams, the city is alive with competition. Maybe that is why so many world-class and Olympic athletes call Boulder home.

With a rugged terrain, high altitude, and 300 sunny days a year, the town is ideal for an active lifestyle. But you can still enjoy the citys outdoor offerings without too much daring or physical stress. Hundreds of scenic hiking trails, for all skill levels, traverse the surrounding landscape, surmounting high mountains and meandering through magnificent wilderness. Winding rivers, peppered with trout, await the challenge of a fly line. Families of in-line skaters and bicyclists flow along the Boulder Creek Path, a paved gateway running through the heart the city.

If you're looking for a sports match, take in a CU Buffalo game. Fanatical fans pack Folsom Field each fall for college football. The Lady Buffalo basketball team is a dominant force and the mens basketball program continues to show signs of improvement.

Of course, the town offers more than brute muscle, sweat, and designer sportswear. Boulder also has a brain, and is a prominent research center and home to the Atomic Clock, the nations timekeeper. Scientists populate the town and obviously find immense entertainment grappling with complicated problems. A host of high thinking is always going on at NCAR (pronounced EN-car) and at the university. Plus, Boulders college town persona keeps the residents young at heart and provides a great setting for cultural attractions and good old-fashioned parties.

Museums and Galleries

The towns evolution lies preserved at the Boulder Museum of History. Housed in a posh University Hill mansion, the museum boasts some 35,000 relics pertaining to Colorados bygone era. Plus, more than 100,000 photographs document Boulders days as a gold rush depot and farming hub. The Henderson Museum, residing on the University of Colorado campus, takes you on a trip into the areas rich natural history. Explore the violent uprisings of the Rocky Mountains and take a look at the states paleontological past. Founded in 1902, the museum features an extensive exhibit on local Native American pottery and a wealth of interesting displays on geology, botany and zoology.

CU toots its own horn at the Heritage Center. Displays depict student life before Greek houses, keg parties and coffee shops. Located on the top floor of Old Main, the universitys glorious first building, the center features seven rooms of CU feats and facts. Find out whos who in the Alumni Room or wander into the Space Room for a gander at the universitys prominent role in the space program.

If you happen to be in town with the whole family, head over to the Collage Childrens Museum for a day of interactive adventure. The kids have a wealth of educational and fun activities to choose from including projects in science, computers and art, along with dress up games. The Fiske Planetarium is another great place to take the kids. The geodesic dome on the CU campus is the place for stargazing and probing the wonders of the universe. Of course, the rock-n-roll laser light shows at the planetarium draw the crowds, especially for bands like the Doors and Pink Floyd. It gives Boulders Baby Boomer population a chance to relive their glory days. Touring NCAR will teach the kids about the mysteries of weather, including how a tornado forms. Nature trails surround the facility, perched high atop Table Mesa, and offer amazing views of the city, along with informative signs offering input on the local climate and the areas various wildlife and plants.

Walk down any downtown street and you are bound to pass by a small gallery bedecked with every sort of creation ranging from stunning visual designs to crafts and collectables. For a sampling of southwestern art try the Smith-Klein Gallery. Operating on the Pearl Street Mall for over 15 years, the gallery offers a striking collection of glasswork, jewelry and fine painting. For a multi-medium excursion into the lives of the local craft crowd, check out the hodgepodge collection at the Boulder Arts and Crafts Cooperative. Those with more refined taste will find an appealing contemporary selection on display at the Busch Gallery International.

The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art started in a small, run down historic warehouse as a space devoted to honing the skills of local artists. After fancying up the building and opening a rollicking performance art theatre on the top floor, the museum has slowly developed into a respected venue, displaying works of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. Expect the unexpected, from wild kinetic constructions to abstract meanderings, when wandering about the three exhibit rooms.

The CU Art Galleries, occupying the Sibell Wolle Fine Arts Building, takes art to the cutting edge, displaying challenging and poignant works examining themes spanning politics to technology. Most of the concepts incorporate a multitude of mediums and detail, and command an unusual amount of attention. Student work shares space with handiwork by renowned artists.

Performing Arts

A night out at the theatre in Boulder usually involves a trip to the Dairy Center for the Arts. A host of local community troupes share space at the center, and produce a wide repertoire of theatrical performances from extravagant period pieces to simple dramas and comedies. For 20 years the acclaimed ensemble Upstart Crow Theatre Company has wowed audiences with a balanced blend of Shakespearian classics and modern favorites. The Directors Theatre, a newcomer to the Boulder scene, takes on more obscure contemporary plays and has rapidly attained a devoted following of subscribers. If you prefer feasting while watching a popular musical or lighthearted comedy then check out Boulders Dinner Theatre for a festive evening of entertainment and tasty food.

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is a Boulder and CU icon. Time Magazine called the event one of the top three Bard fests in the nation. In 1944, at a time when the Department of Navy was running the theatre program due to the war effort, the star-crossed tragedy Romeo and Juliet took the stage at the universitys newly completed Mary Rippon Outdoor Theater. This sparked more annual performances of Shakespeares work, and in 1958, the festival officially formed and upgraded the summer repertoire from one to three plays. Since then the entire canon of the Bards efforts has seen production, and each year thousands of theatergoers flock to the amphitheater for new performances.

Boulder practitioners of fancy footwork and stylized body choreography cover the spectrum of movement, from flying trapeze artistry to traditional Eastern European dance, including the hair-raising polka, to more popular forms of modern jazz and ballet.

The Bolder Boulder, an acclaimed troupe of international dancers, presents two grand scale productions a year in association with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra. The company also stages the ever-popular holiday classic The Nutcracker. For an evening of sultry jazz dance and sexy modern movement, take in a performance by Interweave Dance Theatre. Then there are the Frequent Flyers, an aerial troupe that takes dance to extreme and experimental levels. Emphasizing theme and setting in relation to aerobatics, productions take place in every sort of environment from parks to drive in movie theaters to graveyards. Past shows have included the use of snakes, computer graphics and construction crews, along with the usual airborne antics.

For a little dancing on your own, boogie over to one Boulders nightclubs and get down. Soma and The Foundry pump the hippest sounds, but are both overflowing with heated university students. The Yard and Marquee are popular dancing havens for the gay and lesbian crowd.

Film

First run mega movieplexes, complete with mammoth concession areas and stadium seating, sprawl along Boulders outskirts, while smaller film houses populate the fringes of downtown. So finding where the latest blockbuster is playing is as easy flipping though the local paper. During the summer, the Boulder Outdoor Cinema gets rolling in the backyard of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. Bring a blanket and relax under the stars to weekly showings of classics and cult favorites. The International Film Series satisfies the art house crowd, rolling the best in independent and foreign language films from around the world. Films run about once a week in CUs Muenzinger Auditorium. The warm months also bring the Silent Film Festival to Chautauqua Park. Watch Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Mary Pickford perform on screen, and experience all the elements of voiceless cinema - including a traditional live piano player.

Music

From classical and jazz to alternative and roots, Boulders music scene is bustling. The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, led by respected conductor Theodore Kuchar, plays at Mackey Auditorium on the CU campus. Recent guests have included world-renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma and Anne Sophie Matter. Classical music lovers will enjoy testing their trained ears at the Colorado Music Festival. The event takes place at Chautauqua Auditorium over the summer and brings professional musicians from around to world. Guest conductors, a different one each week, guide the musicians through a summer of concerts. Winter brings the Boulder Bach Festival and celebrates the talents of the classical master. Other events associated with this festival occur throughout the year, but the main gala takes place in late January.

The university town character draws a diverse group of national acts to the Fox Theater, ranging from critically acclaimed underground sensations to college town favorites to the latest chart toppers. Although the Fox, which sits atop The Hill, is an intimate space, the stage has hosted some epic concerts from the likes of Lyle Lovett, Counting Crows, Dave Matthews and 311. Plus, the theater is a perfect spot to check out the nightlife roaming about on The Hill. Brooding youths smoke and relate on street corners while hippies twirl and spin to the good vibrations of love flowing through the air. Frat boys pile into the local bars and the under age crowd muscles for video games at the local arcade. Meanwhile, the sounds of the Fox spill onto the street giving the night a bit of background music.

The Boulder Theater, located in the heart of downtown, also caters to the rock and pop crowd, but branches into other music spectrums, including jazz and blues. The theater is also home to National Public Radios musically oriented environmental show E-Town. Chautauqua hosts an annual Summer Convert Series drawing a worldly assortment of talent. Artists include jazz greats, folk legends, barbershop quartets, and even the throat singers of Tuva.

But ultimately when the day is done, Boulderites love to stroll the Pearl Street Mall and relax worn out bodies on a café patio, arm themselves with a designer beer, have a good conversation and watch the city life move into the night.

T. Turner