It's impossible to get bored in Estes Park, where you'll find a wide variety of performing arts events -- many of them free -- presented year-round. You'll hear classical music -- from small ensembles to symphony orchestras -- plus jazz, country, and Christian; and see dance and theater. The community boasts a nice outdoor entertainment venue -- Estes Park Performance Park -- on West Elkhorn Avenue on the west side of town. For details on what's going on when you plan to be in town, contact the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park, 304 E. Elkhorn Ave. (P.O. Box 4135), Estes Park, CO 80517 (tel. 970/586-9203; www.estesarts.com), which represents a number of arts groups and individual artists, and helps coordinate many of the community's arts events. These include a free outdoor concert series (including music, theater, and dance) Thursdays at 7pm June through August at the Estes Park Performance Park; a dance festival in November; and Imagine This, a family-oriented festival of performing and visual arts, each February.
Among individual organizations presenting live productions is the Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies, which sponsors musicals and plays; the Estes Park Music Festival, which presents a series of classical music concerts each summer; and the Chamber Music Society of Estes Park, offering three concerts in early October.
Of local watering holes, we're big fans of the Wheel Bar, 132 E. Elkhorn Ave. (tel. 970/586-9381), which has been open for a century and owned by the Nagl family since 1945. It's open every day except Christmas, serving as a community hub in more ways than one. The bar is a bit funky, with an excellent steakhouse, Orlando's, upstairs, and plenty of wheel decor, including a slowly rotating specimen behind the bar.
Among other bars, the Rock Inn, 1675 Colo. 66 (tel. 970/586-1146), plates up an eclectic array of dishes and hosts live rock and country music. For live rock music and dancing on weekends, check out Lonigan's Bar & Grill, 110 W. Elkhorn Ave. (tel. 970/586-4346).
