If you’re looking for arts and culture, you can save your frequent flyer miles. The town of Evergreen is both affordable and easily accessible to Coloradoans. Ripe with concerts, plays, galleries and restaurants, there’s plenty to do for a weekend — or a week. If you choose to stay the night, options range from cabins and hotels to bed & breakfasts and inns.

What to see

Award-winning theatre doesn’t have to be contained to a metropolitan setting. The Evergreen Players are celebrating their 60th anniversary in 2010, over which time they’ve garnered 50+ awards. If you enjoy live theatre, put Center/Stage on your agenda. You can plan your trip around any of the upcoming shows seen on www.evergreenplayers.org.
 

If you enjoy history and/or are traveling with kids, be sure to stop at the Hiwan Homestead Museum. With children’s educational programming, living history presentations, teas and guided tours, adult and children’s craft classes, and a great line-up of Halloween and Christmas events, the Museum is entertaining for all ages. The 17-room lodge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its unique construction! www.co.jefferson.co.us/openspace.org. 
 

Since 1974, the Center for the Arts Evergreen, a nonprofit community arts center, has been serving Evergreen and the mountain community. The Center promotes all the visual and performing arts and is the meeting place for many of the areas arts organizations. CAE’s mission is to “cultivate artistic excellence” and it hits its mark in every way possible. From the “Arts in the Schools” grants for art teachers and experiential art programs for children and parents through “Art in the Park,” to monthly art exhibits and Friday night gallery opening receptions, the Center is a staple in the community. Special events include Summerfest and Winterfest, and the Center also sponsors concerts, reader’s theater, high school poetry jams, summer creative camps and “Arts Person of the Year.” www.evergreenarts.org.

What to hear

The fourth weekend in July marks the annual Evergreen Jazz Festival. First held in 2001, the event has become a fixture on the community’s calendar and has drawn visitors from as far away as Japan and Scotland. The unique combination of top quality musicians, variety of intimate venues and beautiful mountain setting makes it one of the best jazz festivals in the country. www.evergreenjazz.org.
 

For 26 years, the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra has been performing a repertoire ranging from 17th century classical to jazz in a regular concert series. The quality of music (not to mention beautiful mountain setting)   was enough to lead world-renowned guitarist Masakazu Ito to recently join the orchestra to perform “Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and Orchestra.” The group also coaches and performs with the young musicians in the Mountain Area Orchestra Festival. www.evergreenchamberorch.org.
 

The only adult community choir in the mountain area west of Denver, the Evergreen Chorale has been producing quality musical theatre and choral music since 1972. The group owns Center/Stage, the home of several nonprofit and educational groups in the Evergreen and Conifer area. In addition, the lobby of the building hosts a variety of local artists’ works year-round, giving attendees a trinity of culture (theatre, choral music and art)   in one location. www.evergreenchorale.org
 

Providing musical performance opportunities for 60 youth from private, public and homeschool environments, the Evergreen Children’s Chorale (ECC) includes ensemble members of amazing talent. Weekly rehearsals prepare the group for a fall choral concert and a fully staged musical in the spring. The ECC performs special events throughout the community and was selected by Music Cele­brations International to attend the Haydn Choral Youth Festival in Vienna, Austria, in 2009. www.evergreenchildrenschorale.com.

What to do

Get some exercise while you take in the beautiful sites of Evergreen in the annual Art for the Mountain Community (AMC) Sculpture Walk. Each June the AMC chooses sculptures from a national competition and places them around Evergreen for public viewing. The event attracts thousands of residents and visitors from around the region. Since the Sculpture Walk began in 1999, AMC has placed 142 sculptures. http://mountainart.org
 

September is the perfect time to meet 31 Colorado artists, ask them questions and experience their craft in progress as part of the annual Open Door Studios Tour. In 2009, the event will be held on September 19 and 20, although the preview show is September 1 through 18 with an Artists’ Reception on the 18th. To learn where you can pick up a free tour book in Evergreen, visit www.evergreenopendoorstudios.com.
 

If you’re heading to Evergreen in August, be sure to hit the 43rd Annual Evergreen Fine Arts Festival on the 29th and 30th. Artists from all over the country enter and find residents and visitors who attend to be great appreciators of art! The festival features live entertainment and food vendors in the beautiful setting of Heritage Grove Park. The event is a fundraiser for the Evergreen Artists Association, which holds exhibitions, promotes the Arts in schools through scholarships, and gives grants to deserving artists. www.evergreenartists.org.