6 Best Performing Arts in South Central Colorado, Colorado

This downtown theater company brings three touring Broadway blockbusters to the restored Memorial Hall every year.

The small town of Larkspur is home to just a couple hundred residents, but it knows how to throw a heck of a party—and a medieval one at that. On weekends in summer, the Colorado Renaissance Festival annually hosts throngs of families, chain-mail-clad fantasy enthusiasts, and fun-lovers of every other kind. Within about 350 wooded acres there are performers who deliver everything from juggling stunts and fire-eating to hypnotism and comedy. The big event happens three times a day, when knights square off in the arena for a theatrical joust. There are also more than 200 artisans selling their wares, as well as games, rides, and myriad food and drink booths.

This downtown venue presents a wide range of musical events as well as touring theater and dance companies.

The city's symphony performs all types of music, from pops to classical. Concerts are held at the Hoag Recital Hall on the Colorado State University–Pueblo campus.

In recent years, the former power plant overlooking the Arkansas River, now known as Salida Steam Plant Event Center, has become the arts and culture hub of town. The theater hosts several concerts and productions each summer, ranging from drama and comedy to music and cabaret, and two art galleries house exhibits featuring local and regional artists.

Rotating exhibits at this impressive performance and gallery center celebrate regional arts and crafts. The center also houses the superb Western art collection and a theater with a performing-arts series that ranges from plays to ballets.