Establishing a permanent home for Encore! — an Estes Park performing arts center — has been an aspiration for arts aficionados in the Estes Park area for decades. The latest attempt to receive the support of the Town for the most recent plan will be considered by the Trustees during its study session Tuesday evening.

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On tap for discussion is whether results from a fall 2024 interest survey, along with subsequent information provided by the group promoting the arts facility currently named Encore! is appropriate for development on the proposed property, whether the board is comfortable with financial projections for the center along with town facility relocation expenses, and whether the concept for use of the property should be considered appropriate for inclusion in the Stanley Park master plan.

Stanley Park staff are concerned that construction of an arts center could affect the use of the grounds for horse and dog shows, festivals, rodeos, and other large events. Last spring the town board asked that a community survey to gauge community interest be conducted.

Results from that survey conducted by Design Concepts in September and October 2024 garnered 376 responses.

“When you look at the survey alone,” said Tim Phillips, president of the Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies. “The Performing Arts Center, or a performing arts venue, by far, outscored everything else.” But, he added, “the biggest thing is the people who were opposed to Stanley Park mostly were protective of the equestrian events.”

Phillips believes conflicts between equestrian events and arts events can be offset by coordination between the two varieties of entertainment.

The initial concept for the center includes a primary theater, a cabaret theater, a rotating exhibits art gallery, meeting rooms, rehearsal rooms, and creative rooms as well as being a home to the arts community. A second level of the building would house an immersive arts space currently being call the “Inner Sanctum.”

“You’ve got two theaters and a gallery right there at the Encore! Center, which could benefit from having additional things associated with your (equestrian) events in that venue, including what you do with the event center when you’re bringing in conferences.”

For example, he said, “You could do “Annie Get Your Gun” at the same time as the rodeo. There are all sorts of cowboy singers and musicians who could be performing in those theaters. You could bring in cowboy poets — all those sort of things would complement the equestrian. There could be art different Western artists in the gallery space, which again, complements what they’re doing.”

To offset ongoing operational expenses, the group plans to construct and operate an experiential, immersive arts culture space, a contemporary art form that emphasizes direct engagement and interaction between the artwork and its audience. The artform is known for its technological, mixed reality playgrounds and secret passageways that attract youth and adults alike.

Early conservative projections showed that the immersive art installation would generate more than $6 million annually.

Well-known immersive art experience organizations include Meow Wolf, which has locations in Santa Fe and Denver, Area 15 in Las Vegas, Artechouse in Washington, DC, Radio Tave in Houston, and Superblue in Miami.

In the early 1990s, work to rehab space on the grounds at The Stanley Hotel fell apart. In the 2000s, a concept to construct an arts center at Stanley Park was included on its master plan, but it had to be abandoned when investors asked for a more significant commitment from the town before pledging funding.

Later plans to construct a facility in the heart of downtown failed when financing and other details failed to materialize. Other setbacks have included a provisional offer to construct a facility at Stanley Park and infrastructure costs related to building on undeveloped land near the transfer station proved to be too costly.

Now, years later, a group of individuals led by principals primarily involved in theater have asked the town to revisit its original offer to provide Stanley Park land as a location for a performing arts center.

The difference in this go-round, they say, is that the first million-dollar contribution has been received and a concrete plan to pay ongoing future operational expenses is securely in place. The only missing piece is dedicated land.

The organization hopes to gain the support of the Town Board to move forward.

The Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies will kick off its 2025 season March 1 at 7 p.m. at the Estes Park High School auditorium with A Night on Broadway featuring selections from Hamilton, West Side Story, Les Miserables, Daddy Long Legs, Hadestown, Big Fish, Beetlejuice, and Cabaret. Tickets are available online at MacDonald Book Shop, and at the door. Performers include Michelle Allen, Scott Anderson, Paola Patricia Arias Cijanes, Nancy Bell, Nelson Burke, Miranda Dillard, Danielle Hermon, Rachel Ryan, Toraé Reid, Denise Stookesberry, Randy Welch, and Samantha Workman.