The show-stopping Breck arts fest knows its place
In three short years, the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts has proven itself one of the best reasons to head toward the Rockies in the summer.
BIFA, as it’s called, stands apart from other summer arts events by taking a free-wheeling and inclusive view of culture. While most fests build their following by specializing in one genre — the Aspen Music Festival is all about classical, the Vail Dance Festival concentrates on ballet and ballroom — BIFA brings all that art activity under one show-stopping umbrella. There’s a bit of everything: theater, visual arts, classical and pop concerts, and plenty of family fare.
It also manages to make art that’s imported from different corners of the globe seem right at home in a mid-sized mountain town by blending it seamlessly with existing local culture. A visitor might encounter a guitarist on one of the area’s popular hiking trails or hear musicians play from perches up in the trees. It’s high art but with a high-country sensibility.
“Projects in BIFA are selected because they have a sense of adventure, play and creativity, which embodies the spirit of our town,” said festival producer Robb Woulfe, who heads nonprofit Breckenridge Creative Arts.
Woulfe’s curatorial mission for BIFA — sensitive to what he calls Breck’s “environmentally conscious, nature-loving inhabitants” combined with the town’s “pioneering attitude and willingness to take risks” — allows him space to program adventurous fare, and to pluck interesting offerings from across the globe.
The opening weekend, for example, featured Australia’s Polyglot Theatre and its interactive “Ants,” which had giant insects roving about the town park leaving trails of breadcrumbs. Children, scores of them wearing their own antennae, were happy to help.
This weekend, the interactive theater component will come
from the Dutch company CloseAct Theatre, which arrives with “Birdmen,” starring “large, illuminated, pterodactyl-like creatures” set to descend upon downtown.
Attractions range from the eerie and peculiar, like Craig Walsh’s giant projections of local Breck citizens on trees, to the inviting and colorful, like “Los Trompos,” by Mexican designers Hector Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena, which fall somewhere between art installation and playground equipment, allowing folks to sit in, climb on and spin around.
But the festival’s real winners are more subtle and perfect for a bit of kicking back. “Acoustic Flow,” for example, is a series of early morning yoga classes held along the Blue River and accompanied by classical music. The events are a partnership with the Breckenridge Music Festival.
Trail Mix is a series of pop-up concerts on the historic Illinois Creek, Iowa Hill and Moonstone trails on the outskirts of town. The concerts are small and contemplative and the experience is heightened by art installations that have been carefully placed in the natural surroundings. The installations aren’t afterthoughts; Boulder artist Nikki Pike’s “Aurous Trove” on Iowa Hill — a large-scale sphere made of bark and set on a steep slope — is one of the festival’s highlights.
BIFA’s real strength is that it gives its guests breathing room. Most of the cultural opportunities take place outdoors, which, weather-permitting, give them a casual, come-and-go-feeling. There’s no pressure to stick around if something’s not for you.
But if it is, you can linger all day and night. Walsh’s massive visages, just hanging out in the trees, staring into the night and occasionally blinking or furrowing a brow, demand a little bit of time.
The festival is also a mix free and paid events — and there’s no real hierarchy to them — so it’s good for any budget.
This weekend’s highlights range from a concert by singer, violinist and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens to a movement performance by the gymnastically inclined Australian troupe Casus Circus.
There’s also the don’t-miss promise of Tree-O, the trio of musicians — cellist Russick Smith, violinist Karen Lauffer and mandolinist Kevin Larkin — who will be playing together from three separate trees. It’s a safe bet no one has seen that before.
BIFA is really just about letting things happen to you instead of seeking them out. There’s a schedule of events, and it helps prevent visitors from missing things and connects them with the paid performances, but there’s enough going on that you encounter things organically as you stroll through the parks and main streets.
As Woulfe puts it: “From town facilities and plazas to rivers and forests, any public space can be transformed into a canvas or exhibition space.” At BIFA it’s wise to just keep your eyes and ears open.
The Breckenridge International Arts Festival continues through Aug. 20 at various locations, indoors and out, in Breckenridge. There are plenty of free offerings in the mix. Information at 970-453 3187 or online at breckcreate.org.