MID SUMMER SALE

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century, but when Chautauqua opened, it was a technological wonder. “The auditorium was constructed with electric wiring in place for lighting and to showcase a new form of entertainment: motion pictures,” Gerard says. “Some of the very earliest movies shown in Colorado were screened there.”

Since 1986, Chautauqua has continued the tradition with Silent Film Festival screenings featuring live musical accompaniment. And besides the parade of national acts, the auditorium has been the Boulder venue where locally launched bands have found the spotlight — ranging from Leftover Salmon, the Takács Quartet and Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra to The Wood Brothers, who played a sold-out show on the hallowed local stage in 2022.

“Oliver and Chris Wood were born and raised here, but they didn’t find music success until after they left Boulder,” says Danny Cohen, Chautauqua’s general manager and a longtime fan of the band, ahead of their slated return to the auditorium on July 22. “They finally found themselves on this stage in their hometown, a place where they had seen events, but never performed. … They were so happy. They were freaking out. That was really special.”

‘A SACRED SPACE’

As it has been for multiple generations of Boulder residents, Forster’s connection to Chautauqua runs deep. He and his wife, eTown producer Helen Forster, were married at Chautauqua Community House. His daughters worked at the dining hall back when it was only open in the summertime.

Thanks to efforts spearheaded by Forster, a tribute to his late friend and Hot Rize guitarist, Charles Sawtelle, is installed outside the auditorium’s north end. A bench is inscribed with a pithy Sawtelle saying — “Never turn anything all the way up” — with oversized bronze guitar picks embedded in the concrete base.

“I had brunch there with my family last week and I went to see Mary Chapin Carpenter,” Forster says. “I

AT A GLANCE: CHAUTAUQUA 125TH BIRTHDAY BASH

1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 8, Chautauqua Park

ITINERARY:

1 p.m. | Introduction by Jordan Dresser

1:15 p.m. | Jeff and Paige

2:10 p.m. | Mile High Brass Band

FOOD AND DRINK VENDORS:

- Pupusas Familia

- Big Wheel Beverages

- Georgia Boys BBQ

- Susan’s Samosas

- Zoe Ma Ma

- Upslope Brewing Company

- Luna Bay Hard Kombucha

- Curation Canned Cocktails

PLUS:

- Artisan maker market

- Chautauqua walking tours with archivist Kate Gerard

- Kids’ activities (face painting, three-legged races, corn hole, etc.)

- Tintype portrait photographer and more was running across the green with our youngest granddaughter and playing on the swings just like I did with her mom.”

PARKING: Very limited parking available in the area. City of Boulder free weekend summer shuttles run from downtown parking garages and other lots, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

For Forster and others whose lives have been touched by this Boulder institution over the last century-plus, it all adds up to something much greater than the sum of its parts.

“Chautauqua is more than just a concert hall or a restaurant,” he says. “It’s a touchstone for me, a sacred space.”

ON THE BILL: Chautauqua 125th Birthday Bash. 1-6 p.m. Saturday, July 8, Chautauqua Park, 900 Baseline Road and 9th Street. Free