Interview Scott Palmer Center for the Arts Crested Butte

I recently got the opportunity to sit down for an Interview Scott Palmer Center for the Arts Crested Butte. Scott is the new Executive Director for the Center for the Arts and super excited about the upcoming year. Covid has certainly had an impact on the events at the Center, but the Center is busy and being utilized by the many community organizations.

I am a big fan of the Center for the Arts as a place that brings all members of our community together for events, performances, ski movies, summer Monday evening alpenglow concerts and much more. My wife Francene and I have tried to do our small part to donate money over the years, and were very thankful we were able to support the capital campaign with a $25,000 donation.

The Center has a final push for end-of-year Donations

Donate To The Center Here

From their recent email:

“Your generous end-of-year gift will help keep this beautiful building buzzing with safe, socially distanced activities for our entire community.”

Video Interview Scott Palmer Center for the Arts Crested Butte

Transcript – Interview Scott Palmer Center for the Arts Crested Butte

Chris Kopf:
Hey, it’s Chris Kopf. We’re downtown Crested Butte. I am super excited. We are at The Center for the Arts in this unbelievable facility. And I’m here with Scott Palmer – who is the new Executive Director for The Center for the Arts, and I am really excited to talk to Scott about what’s going on at the Center right now, it’s December, 2020. Scott, tell us about what’s happening.

Scott Palmer:
Yes, I assume that most people think that the Center is pretty quiet given that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic, but in fact, Chris, the Center is packed. We are constantly busy, maybe not the same size of audiences as people would normally expect to see in the facility. But we do have a ton of events going on here.

We’re playing host to the Trail Head Children’s Museum. They’re starting a, a winter camp next week. We’ve got the Crested Butte School of Dance who are in here using every space in the building for rehearsals. They’re getting ready to do a walking version of the Nutcracker opening next week. We also have yoga collaborative that’s in here. We have an internationally acclaimed ballet dancer and choreographer developing a new piece of work in the building. So even though people are expecting it to be quiet, The Center for the Arts is packed with stuff.

Chris Kopf:
Wow. Well, that’s exciting. And I know I’ve looked at the website and the programming and all the things that you’re doing and getting an opportunity to walk through the facility is certainly special. What are some of the priorities for the Center now, as you look at where you’re going in 2021 and some of your priorities?

Scott Palmer:
Yeah, that’s a great question. Thanks for asking us that. I think everyone knows that COVID-19 has had a huge impact on all of us and it has also had a huge impact on all non-profits, whether they be cultural nonprofits or social service nonprofits. So our big push, it will come as no surprise to anyone is is really getting end of the year donations to support the work of the Center.
People may know that pre COVID our budget was probably in the neighborhood of $2 million, $2.5 million this last fiscal year, that budget dropped down to about $500,000. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t need the support of generous donors and supporters like you and like the people watching.

So we really encourage people to consider making an end of the year gift to the Center or to any of the other hundreds of nonprofits in Gunnison County who desperately need your help at this time.

Chris Kopf:
Yes, there’s still some finishing touches with the capital campaign in the Center. And that’s correct. Certainly there’s always an ongoing operational budget to keep the doors open and do all the great things that you do. So thank you for being a really core part of the community. And, and I think bringing, as I say, all of the different socioeconomic demographics together in this community, you’re really a core place for that.

Scott Palmer:
Thank you. I love the fact that it’s part of the reason that I decided to take this job and move to beautiful Crested Butte from sun Valley, Idaho. So from one kind of cool mountain town to another only about 5,000 feet higher in the air. I appreciate just how welcoming and incredibly inclusive the Center is. You know, a lot of people look at this beautiful facility and think, “oh, the, the tickets have to be incredibly expensive”. Well, they’re affordable. The, the Center is a place for everybody, whether you’ve been here for 50 years or five minutes, whether you’re a permanent full-time resident or a second homeowner we want you to feel like you have ownership of this space and we want you to feel welcome here, which is why we have such a wide range of different opportunities for people to participate in the work that happens in this building. The Center is for everyone.

Chris Kopf:
Well, if people want to get involved, if they want to donate, if they want to understand what’s happening at the Center, where do they go? What do they need to do?

Scott Palmer:
Can they reach out? Yeah, that’s a great question. We would love to hear from anybody who wants to know more about our end of year campaign, about the capital campaign, about how to volunteer, how to donate all of that information is on our brand new website. We just had our website redesigned as a result of a generous gift of a donor who lives here in town who hated our previous website. So she gave us money to redo it. It’s beautiful. It’s really fantastic that web addresses, CrestedButteArts.org, and information about our end of year campaign, how you can volunteer, how you can get tickets, how you can get involved. All of that is located on the website. And you can also find us on Facebook where we’re posting information all the time.

Chris Kopf:
Well, very good. Thanks again, Scott, I appreciate the time. Appreciate all that you do. And all the people that are part of the Center, which really reaches out into the community. I know you have so many volunteers to be able to do the events that you do, and we all really appreciate that.

Scott Palmer:
Thank you so much. And thank you all – hope to see you at the Center soon. Awesome.

Chris Kopf:
So next time you are in Crested Butte and downtown Crested Butte is where The Center for the Arts is located. Come check it out, come to an event, see what you can do to get involved, have an awesome day and Merry Christmas to you all.

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