Museum of Boulder celebrates 75 years with festive bash – Boulder Daily Camera

The Museum of Boulder has preserved the history of the Boulder “bubble” for more than seven decades. While the museum’s name and location may have changed over the years, the message of showcasing the people and places that make this Colorado city unique remains a top priority to museum staff. Saturday, the museum will celebrate 75 years of contributing to the community with a bash that will offer music, food, theatrics and a new exhibit that will feature 75 never-before-displayed artifacts and documents, giving an  intimate glimpse into the area’s past.

“It’s due to the visioning of the people who’ve been a part of this organization for many years, and the Museum’s generous supporters in the community that we are where we are today,” said Lori Preston, executive director of Museum of Boulder. “We are doing museums differently. It is awesome sponsorship, membership and repeat visitors that’ll keep this place jumping.”

At Saturday’s festivities, some party guests will include Boulderites of yesteryear. Costumed thespians will depict Captain Thomas Aikins who went to battle with Chief Niwot in the mid-1800s, notable lumber business owner and carpenter A.J. Macky, artist and educator Jean Wirt Sherwood, who founded the Boulder Art Association, and taxidermist Martha Ann Maxwell, who opened the Rocky Mountain Museum in 1874.

“We will have people there holding character, telling stories and inspiring people to get to know even more about them,” Preston said. “We look forward to hearing attendees interacting with the live reenactors, hopefully having the takeaways of gained appreciation, joy and inspiration.”

While the Museum’s Boulder Experience Gallery, which opened in November, provides attendees with plenty of hands-on technology and artifacts that shine a light on the area’s one-of-a-kind elements, the “Archive 75” exhibit brings even more archival gems to the surface.

“We have research going on behind the scenes for new content all the time,” Preston said. “There are grand hopes for a children’s space like no other in the area, and raising the funds is the only way to get us to that dream. We need individual people and businesses to commit financially to help us meet the strategic goals. We envision a more permanent space in our garden level for our youngest learners in Boulder. ”

At Saturday’s event, attendees will get the chance to dance to a variety of music stretching back to the 1940s, enjoy cuisine courtesy of Cured, take advantage of plenty of photo opportunities and sip from flutes containing bubbly blueberry and raspberry cocktails whose colors match those of the Museum of Boulder.

“At the party, our hope is for people to have fun, to relax, hit pause and absorb more Boulder,” Preston said. “We hope to see folks talking, asking questions and telling new stories. We can’t wait to see the silly dancing through the Silent Disco on one floor, the splashes of music across the ages through a live band and digging into the latest music provided by a live DJ on the rooftop with Boulder’s best views.”

In keeping with the evening’s milestone, the cost for the event is $75. Party-goers will have a chance to take home treasures with a silent auction that will feature items ranging from exclusive stays at Hotel Boulderado to blue topaz earrings. History buffs can even snag a framed first-known photo of Boulder.

“All of the conversation and energy is constantly changing and bringing out Boulder’s variety,” Preston said. “Working here keeps me up to date on the latest, exposes me to the incredible depth of talent, funkiness, courage and genius of people around here. I see, hear and touch Boulder in ways like never before.”

If you go

What: All that Glitters: 75th Anniversary Celebration of Museum of Boulder

When: 7- 10 p.m. Saturday

Where: Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder

Cost: $75

More info: museumofboulder.org/event/all-that-glitters-75th-anniversary-party