EXPERIENCE

Broomfield Out Loud Showcase: Where Community Stories Come Alive

On Friday, October 18, the Arts and History team presented the Broomfield Out Loud showcase at the Broomfield Auditorium. This free program was a huge success, with 196 people in attendance, celebrating months of creative collaboration.

The showcase featured the stories of 10 Broomfield residents, brought to life through powerful performances and beautiful accompanying artwork. Each piece of art was inspired by a Broomfield resident’s story, shared through the oral history program. These stories are now part of the Broomfield History Collections, preserving these voices for future generations.

This program would not have been possible without the incredible contributions of key partners. The Arts and History team collaborated with the talented people at Stories On Stage, who skillfully performed the stories and guided the audience through each transition between the art pieces and artists. Their storytelling expertise was crucial to the program's success. Local musician Mark Diamond and his band The Mark Diamond Band featuring Chris Malley's Rabblefish also played a key role, providing live music that enhanced the atmosphere and helped weave the stories together seamlessly.

A heartfelt thank you to all the artists who created stunning pieces, the partners who helped bring these stories to life, the Arts and History staff for their dedication, and the financial support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Rose Community Foundation, and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Most importantly, a special thank you to the storytellers who were brave enough to share their stories—this program would not have been possible without their courage and openness. This program truly celebrated Broomfield’s diverse voices and creative spirit—thank you to everyone who joined for this unforgettable evening!

A message from Arts and History manager, Megan Gilby about the Broomfield Out Loud Showcase:

This initiative is the largest undertaking our team has ever embarked on, including: our first successful federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (and is an Our Town grant, a coveted and very competitive placemaking grant), the showcase is the first program that we have fully produced (usually we book artists, this time we are hiring them and designing the show from scratch - with some wonderful partners) and is the first time we have commissioned so many original works of art and added so many oral histories to the collection. None of this could have been successful without the hard work of our dedicated staff:

• Auditorium Techs: Andrew, Charlton, George, MacKenzie, Steph and Weston have had great ideas on the staging and technical aspects of the showcase, and will play a critical role in the performance itself, bringing everything to lift through lights, sound and theater production.
• Program Assistants: Rochelle and Kathi have supported hours of administrative tasks, including helping with databases and transcription of the over 60 stories gathered. And we are excited to welcome Abby Heaslet and Abby Kellem to the team!
• Mat Kitchen: Mat leads a team of talented and dedicated techs, and always has helpful technical ideas for projects and programs. He is a key player to the final production of the showcase, which is a culmination of so many creative visions that he can turn into a dynamic event.
• Nikki Walsh: Even with the short months since Nikki joined the team, she’s already brought so much value to the project, including the exhibition plan for the Broomfield Out Loud exhibition, to bring portraits and selections from the Storytellers into public spaces this fall.
• Johanna Dadisman: Johanna has only had two months to get caught up, but already has created more space and deepened our ability to tackle this major project. She also will bring a new creative and engaging approach to awareness of the project and help make the showcase a success.
• Cheryl German: No shows are successful without strong administrative support! Cheryl has been indispensable with contracts, finance and a general guiding light and champion of cohesion for the team.
• Serr Her: Serr has grown into the Supervisor role in a wonderful way, taking on many aspects of programs and marketing - especially while we were missing two key staff members. He is a well of positivity and a cheerleader for our team and the community partners we work with.
• David Allison: Dave has taken an incredible leadership role with this project. His deep knowledge, deep care for the community and welcoming aura has played a critical part in the success of this program. He has stepped up and led the team through the ups and downs of a project of this size, and I cannot wait to see what comes next for the project with Dave at the helm.

Broomfield Out Loud Creativity Workshop

Following the Broomfield Out Loud Showcase, the Arts and History team host a Broomfield out Loud Creativity Workshop on Saturday, October 26 at the Broomfield Depot Museum. Six members of the community attended the event and participated in an interactive workshop with local artist and teacher, Rebecca Lefebvre. These individuals had the opportunity to learn to unlock their creativity and tell their stories through the art they created.

Broomfield Out Loud Exhibit

In October of 2024, History Curator, Nikki Walsh installed the Broomfield Out Loud exhibit at the Broomfield Library and Depot Museum. This exhibit gave Broomfield residents the opportunity to meet their neighbors and dive deep into the stories of Broomfielders in this spotlight exhibit drawn from the oral histories recorded for the Broomfield Out Loud project. With visuals, artistic representations, and quotes drawn from oral history recordings, these exhibits included pieces at both the Broomfield Depot Museum as well as at the Broomfield Library. The exhibit was free to experience and was up until February of 2025.