Since 1898, the Chautauqua Auditorium has been a wooden, open-air hall that does most of its work in warm weather. Inside it this fall there is scaffolding, a basement buildout and a bore field for a geothermal heating system. The Colorado Chautauqua Association's plan is to commission all of it by mid-December.
Chautauqua's calendar usually goes quiet after the holiday lights come down. This year it has dates running from the Dec. 11 tree lighting through January's film festival to a symphony night in March, and the decorated bears stay on the grounds for that whole stretch. The old off-season still shapes the park in practical ways, starting with parking.
Five Months of Programming, Then Twelve
The Daily Camera's November 2025 report on the renovation laid out the goal. The project would stretch the Auditorium's performance season from five months to twelve and add roughly 200 programming days a year. That report also described structural reinforcement of the hall. The winterization adds radiant floors heated by a geothermal system, more insulation, and insulated wall panels that crews can take down in warmer months.
In September, Jason Hill, chief operating officer of the Colorado Chautauqua Association, told the Daily Camera that the project was on schedule and that its scope had not materially changed. He said crews would spend the months before mid-December finishing the basement and interior, starting the geothermal bore field and integrating the mechanical systems, then run final inspections, testing and commissioning.
The project also has a funding side. In July, the Daily Camera reported that Chautauqua had raised about $11 million toward an $18 million renovation. The same article covered an $850,000 award from Colorado's Community Revitalization Tax Credit program, which pays out only after the eligible work is finished and the expenses are documented. So the winter calendar below is the first stretch of programming the building was renovated to carry.
November: The Grounds Are Still a Work Site
Before the Auditorium's new season starts, the streets around it are wrapping up their own project. The city's Chautauqua Park page warns that stormwater work may affect the parking lot and travel through the park through Nov. 30.
That work belongs to the Chautauqua Infrastructure Improvements project, a three-year effort to move Xcel electric and Comcast lines underground, update water and stormwater systems, and then repave the streets. Phase 1 covered Goldenrod, Lupine, Boggess and the stretch along Bluebell Trail, and the city lists it as complete as of February 2026. Phase 2 runs from Lupine north to the Green and between Goldenrod Drive and Kinnikinic Road. It started in March, paused for the summer construction moratorium, and new stormwater drainage work was scheduled to follow in September. Xcel's electric undergrounding comes after that. The city expects most of Phase 2 to be done by the end of 2026, with the final road repaving in 2027. Before work starts on a block, nearby households get a 72-hour no-parking notice and door hangers, and the city does not expect trail closures for either phase.
Parking itself is under off-season rules. The Park-to-Park shuttle's 2026 season ran May 23 through Sept. 7 and returns in May 2027. The $2.50-an-hour Chautauqua parking charge applies only on summer weekends and holidays, and parking is free in fall, winter and spring when the shuttle is not running. The trailhead lot near the Ranger Cottage has 48 spaces and is open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
The first event on the indoor calendar falls just before the construction window closes. The Thanksgiving Morning Community Practice starts at 8 a.m. on Nov. 26 at the Community House, 301 Morning Glory Drive, and costs $15.
December 10 to 12: Winterfest, a Few Days Before Commissioning
Winterfest falls on the same week the Auditorium is due to be commissioned, so the holiday weekend happens next to a building that is still being tested. This year's event uses more of the grounds than before. The Winter Fairy Forest moves to the Centennial Garden, which Chautauqua calls the forest's biggest venue yet, and Santa will be in the newly renovated Missions House Lodge.
| When | What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. | LAPOMPE, "A Very Django Holiday Show" | Community House | $31.75; $28.75 members |
| Fri., Dec. 11, 4 p.m. | Jeff & Paige Rainbow Socks Holiday Kids' Concert, followed by a lantern walk to the Fairy Forest | Grounds | $39.75 ages 3+; $36.75 members |
| Fri., Dec. 11, 5:15 p.m. | Tree lighting | Historic buildings and evergreens | Free |
| Fri., Dec. 11, 3 to 5:30 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Historic Cottage Tour, five cottages | Cottages | $25; $20 members |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Holiday market, Santa visits, crafts, cookie decorating | Community House, Missions House Lodge, café | Market and Santa free; crafts and cookies paid |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. | Guided history tours | Gardens, grounds and buildings | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 15-minute slots | Carriage rides around the Green | Clematis Drive, in front of the Chautauqua General Store | $15; $12 members; $10 ages 2 to 10 |
Both seatings of Breakfast with Santa in the 128-year-old Dining Hall, at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., are already sold out.
The cottage tour has its own appeal for people who live near the Green. Chautauqua's Winterfest page calls it the association's own Parade of Homes. The tour includes the restored Mary H. Galey Cottage and the newly renovated Garlandia, which has a vaulted wood interior and Flatirons views, plus three other cottages built in the first half of the 20th century. Professional artisans and creative community members decorate each one for the holidays. With Missions House Lodge and Garlandia both newly renovated, the cottages and the Auditorium are all being restored this season.
January Through April: The Months That Used to Be Empty
Chautauqua's bears are what connect this season from start to finish. The life-sized bears, decorated by local artists, go on display around the grounds on Dec. 11 and stay up through April 22, and anyone can bid on one to take it home. Here is what is scheduled during those four months:
- Jan. 1, 8 a.m. Kick Off the New Year with Qigong and Yoga, $15.
- Jan. 21 to 31, 2027. The Sundance Film Festival comes to Boulder, with Chautauqua Auditorium as an official screening venue. The Daily Camera counts it among the festival's 11 primary screening venues, and its year-round operation is scheduled to begin with the festival.
- March 6, 2027, 7:30 p.m. Swan Lake Reimagined is the first Auditorium show on the calendar after the festival. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets run $37 to $72 with service fees included.
- April 22. Last day of the bear display.
- April 23 to 24, 2027. The Bluebird Music Festival plays the Auditorium. Friday's lineup is Mon Rovîa, Josiah and the Bonnevilles and Alex Amen. Saturday has an afternoon in-the-round set with Jonathan Russell, Mon Rovîa, Bebe Stockwell and Khatumu, then Evan Honer and Marfa in the evening.
On March 6, Boulder Symphony, led by artistic director and conductor Devin Patrick Hughes, joins Wild Heart Dance, with original choreography by artistic director Kat Gurley, for a new version of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake with the orchestra playing live on stage. The program also includes two world premieres from Boulder Symphony's Living Composer's Project with the CU School of Music. They are Minoo Dixon's Moon Rabbit, based on Korean folklore, and Aric Vyhmeister's Trial of the Gods, based on the myth of Eros and Psyche.
The Off-Season Rules Still Apply
The Auditorium's season is getting longer this winter, but the park's other systems still run on the old summer-only schedule. With the shuttle gone until May 2027, getting to every event from the tree lighting through Bluebird means driving and parking, walking or biking. Parking at Chautauqua stays free under the off-season rule. On the streets east of the Green, the city expects most Phase 2 work to be complete by the end of 2026, with the rest of Phase 2 and final road repaving in 2027.
I follow how changes like the year-round Auditorium, the undergrounded utility lines and the repaved streets affect daily life for people living around the Green. If you'd like to talk through how this new year-round season could shape a home on the streets near the Auditorium, Kimberly Fels is happy to walk you through it. Request a Concierge Consultation.
