Green Mountain Falls was pretty much business as usual in early May. The occasional vehicle traveled along Ute Pass Avenue, the main drag through the town that sits northwest of Colorado Springs. Waterfowl paddled in the pond, and snow still lurked in shady spots.
Something big was on its way, though. Workmen were rearranging picnic tables at the Farm Stand near Lake Street, and soil nearby had been excavated to add parking spaces. And Scott RC Levy was in his office, preparing for the 18th annual Green Box Arts Festival, running July 4–19 this year.
Levy became Green Box’s executive director in March 2021 and has seen it grow exponentially. Green Box Arts Festival began as the dream of two men, Christian Keesee and Larry Keigwin, and now draws visitors from all over the U.S.
Keesee’s ancestors escaped Oklahoma summers for refuge in the Colorado mountains. Keigwin, Keesee’s husband, is a choreographer, dancer and founder of New York City-based Keigwin + Company troupe. They began hosting dancers in the town, and one thing led to another. Now, listing all the festival’s 140 events over 16 days and the year-round offerings would take this entire magazine.
“People are willing to adventure into the unexpected because they know the quality of what Green Box is able to present,” Levy says. “Even if it’s something that they’ve never seen before, experienced before, they know it’s worth their while.”
Want to watch or participate in a July 4th parade? Check. Want to enjoy a tailgate potluck before an opera? You got it. Want to marvel at world-class dancers, listen to cowboy poetry and music from a Louisiana bayou, make a chicken pot pie and kinetic earrings, launch your water lantern on Gazebo Lake, learn how to love a forest, watch your kids have Winnie the Pooh-style adventures, turn your hands indigo blue and watch Buster Keaton’s “The General” with live music?
“If every small town in America had something like Green Box, we’d all be better off.
Christian Keesee, Co-Founder, Green Box Arts Festival
“The crown jewel of Green Box’s programming is the festival,” Levy says. “But it’s what we do the other 50 weeks of the year that is equally as exciting and provides all kinds of opportunities for us to do different things.”
He also keeps busy as an ambassador for Green Box, often speaking at conferences so that other communities can learn how to grow their own arts festival.
Levy is eager to share “The Unexpected: A Literary Journey,” performance art that will highlight American culture in its 250th year. Levy selected five-minute excerpts from six classic novels and a play. Jean François Alcoléa, a French artist he met about a year and a half ago, traveled to Colorado to work and record with more than 20 regional actors. Alcoléa turned the recordings into a 30-minute, 360-degree soundscape for listeners to absorb: “cinema for the ears.”
The festival is not something that’s been foisted on the town; instead, it’s grown organically to find its place in residents’ hearts. Many volunteers support six year-round, full-time staffers and six to 10 seasonal workers.
“It’s not just art for art’s sake,” Levy says. “It’s about art for the betterment of the community, for both residents and visitors.”