Courtesy Boulder CVB
Escape, engage, elevate
For those who want to fall under the influence of the Flatirons and Open Land, the Colorado Chautauqua is a good choice. Since 1898, it has been a retreat, first for Texas schoolteachers, later for families. Now, it is promoting itself for small meetings, a logical link given its mission to “Escape, Engage, Elevate.”
Merrell and Smart Wool are companies that have gathered in the Community House, enjoying breezes that curl through French doors that open to a wide, covered front porch. The house’s main level, one large room with a fireplace and bay window, suits groups of 60 to 100, depending on seating.
Overnight guests can stay in cozy and modernized cottages where Arts and Crafts style furnishings complement vintage knickknacks and art. The Missions House Lodge has eight bedrooms and a central living and dining room suited for 30 to 50 people.
“There is no phone, no television; the wireless is great,” said Kim Farin, public relations manager for the Boulder CVB. “Chautauqua is not about watching television; it’s about sitting on the porch, talking to family or friends.”
For meals, groups can walk down to the Dining Hall and sit on the covered porch overlooking Chautauqua Green. After dinner they can hike up to the Flatirons on the Chautauqua Meadow Trailhead at the edge of the property, 1.5 miles from downtown Boulder, or have a drink in the Dining Hall’s airy bar.
America’s Foodiest Town
In a city proclaimed America’s Foodiest Town by Bon Appetit, an after-hours event can be as simple as making dinner reservations at one of a string of local eateries that are the gems along downtown’s aptly named Pearl Street.
A good choice is The Kitchen, loud and chummy, where diners can watch pedestrians on Pearl through the former storefront’s display windows as they enjoy peach bruschetta, Colorado through and through, from the local peaches to goat cheese from Haystack Dairy. Thirty-four farmers and suppliers, most within a 100-mile radius, supply the restaurant.
The upstairs bar, called Upstairs, can be booked by small groups. An association of radio music programmers brought their special guest, Bonnie Raitt, there for dinner recently.
Each night, after closing, staff sit down at a communal table and pass bowls, family style. Now the restaurant offers the same to its customers. The weekly community dinners raise funds to build learning gardens for children.
Next Door, the Kitchen’s less-expensive but equally interesting sister restaurant, is in tune with slimmer wallets, offering cask wines and half-price pitchers of beer.
Another way to sample Boulder’s smaller concerns is aboard a Banjo Billy’s Bus Tour. Groups can book the funky bus for private tours to several of Boulder’s 10 microbreweries.
Among them is Avery Brewing Company, tucked into an industrial park a few miles from town. The operation is soon to grow. A new brewery, to be built near Celestial Seasonings, will have a 300-seat restaurant.
For now, groups can enjoy food and drink in a small bar or have parties in its barrel room.
During an event in Avery’s barrel room, guests will see oak barrels that once stored whiskey, bourbon and other kinds of liquor, now used to concoct new brews. Visiting the microbrewery is the chance to drink beers not offered in bars or restaurants
Though industrial, the barrel room has a pleasant vibe. “It’s an awesome environment for loosening people up,” the brewery’s Joe Osborne said.
The same goes for Boulder in general. The city’s full of fresh, invigorating experiences, whether it is an impromptu performance by a unicycle rider on Pearl Street or a trip down Boulder Creek in an inner tube.
“If your don’t keep trying new things you will get left in the dust,” said Spencer. “The entrepreneurial spirit — we keep it alive and we keep it fun. We’re staying on the front edge, creating trends, not following them.”
