Green Mountain Falls welcomes you. Seriously, all 640 residents are glad you stopped by
Approximately 11 miles west of Colorado Springs along Route 24 is the small (very small) town of Green Mountain Falls. This 704 acre town (give or take a few square feet) has, since 2009, hosted the GreenBox Arts Festival.
It's eerie. As I finished typing that I could actually hear voices proclaiming: "What the H-E double toothpicks is the GreenBox Arts Festival?"
Driving into Green Mountain Falls...a no traffic light required town
I will tell you. The GreenBox Arts Festival is a celebration of new expressions in dance, music, and other creative arts in an idyllic environment surrounded on three sides by the Pike National Forest.
I made that up - but that's exactly what it is. It really is quite nice.
Split trees form a triangular bench in Mountain Road Corner in GMF
The Lake Gazebo (built 1888) and the Gazebo Bridge (built 1990)
Green Mountain Falls is Hollywood central casting's dream of a small mountain town. The place is heavy with mountain town imagery - large trees line the lone main street which boasts count-them-on-one-hand storefronts complete with boardwalks; log cabins and Victorian-era homes dot the hills on both sides of the valley, and a couple of rustic lodges (with modern amenities) offer comfortable places to spend a few days while enjoying "The Gem of The Rockies."*
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The Green Mountain Falls Depot (in use from 1888 to 1923)
Downtown Green Mountain Falls.
Back to the GreenBox Arts Festival. I was a little late to that party, as it came to a close today. However, that does not mean my visit was for naught, as the main draw, the big ticket as they say, was still open and would be until July 13th.
Someone who knows how to handle a chainsaw is working in GMF
Cloud City by Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno.
That would be Cloud City, a modular construction of steel, plexiglass, and reflective surfaces that spent nearly seven months on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York before being hauled to GMF for the GreenBox Arts Festival.
Now, you may be wondering just why, and how, a town of 640 residents brought an elaborate construction (some reviewers are labeling it a constellation, but it looks much more like a molecule - I'll just call it a construction) almost 1,850 miles (over 2970km), and site-built a foundation for it's display (not to mention flying the original crew that set it up in NY out to set it up in GMF).
The juxtaposition is Logan's Run-ish
The answer to that is simple. Christian Kirkpatrick Keesee. Patron of the Arts par excellance. And loaded to the gills.
Mr. Keesee is chairman of a bank and an oil and gas company, as well as a few other business interests. He is also president and founder of GreenBox Arts...and he owns the Outlook Lodge, a five-star rated vacation destination in the heart of Green Mountain Falls.
He has residences in Oklahoma and New York as well as GMF, and he appreciates the new and innovative in the arts like nobodies business.
CRB enjoying the view from the top of the Cloud City
The GreenBox Arts Festival brought Cloud City to GMF because, as the flyers advertising the festival proclaim, "We LOVE Art." Which of course means Mr. Keesee really liked it.
Which is not only commendable, but incredible. This is the true measure of art appreciation. Not government- mandated 1% for art fascism, but a private, community-centered effort to showcase the talent of a creative spirit and give a small town (a really, really small town) a few months of fun and festivities.
To top it all off, it's free to explore - though you do have to sign a disclaimer if you want to walk through it.
The mirrors and multiple rooms (16) have a funhouse effect on your orientation
Buckminster Fuller would be proud
Twenty thousand pounds of steel, glass, and plastic
Without a doubt one of the coolest jungle gyms ever
Cameras and other personal items were not allowed inside the construction as it is easily possible to damage one of the highly reflective surfaces - you also have to put soft slipcovers over your shoes before you can enter.
I truly enjoyed my day in GMF and the remaining hours of the GreenBox Arts Festival. I highly recommend a visit to anyone who has the time and appreciates the environs of a small town with just a little bit of quirk.
GreenBox Workshops & Farm Stand
GreenBox Arts and the Historic Green Mountain Falls Foundation have a lot in the works for tiny GMF. The old GMF motel and the area immediately around it is being re-purposed as a community activities center, which will include an outdoor farm stand and rooms for art classes, community gatherings and art galleries. The final touches are being worked on now, and they include a public sculpture installation.
Being as how GMF is an hour closer to me than any other mountain town with an active arts community, and is not on the dreaded I-70 corridor, I just might have to make this place my go to getaway.
That is, when I hit the lottery.
*Of all the towns declaring themselves the "Gem of The Rockies," this one is easily top ten.
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