Press Release

Black History Resources, New Bus Tour, Women’s History Symposium among History Colorado’s Highlights in February

Plus a pop-up exhibit in Denver, summer camp registration, book club, and so much more. historycolorado.org/events | #HistoryColorado

DENVER — Jan. 25, 2022 — History Colorado is proud to share its offerings for February of 2022.

PRESS CONTACT
John Eding, Communications & PR Manager
303-866-3670 | john.eding@state.co.us

The communities we serve have a lot to celebrate next month and History Colorado will roll out a slew of exciting events and projects for all occasions, especially to honor the many people who are fighting for greater equality in the Centennial State.

New! Black History & Heritage Webpage
historycolorado.org/blackhistory
History Colorado has launched a new resource dedicated to the contributions of African Americans in Colorado. Packed with images, articles, events, exhibits, and links to further resources, this page features prominent members of the African American community across the state’s history and shares regular updates about History Colorado’s ongoing work to elevate the previously untold and under-told stories of African Americans here. Our museums around the state also continue to feature exhibits such as Black in Denver at the History Colorado Center and Buffalo Soldiers West at Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center.

Loveland Valentine Bus Tour
History Colorado Center | Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

The wheels on the bus keep rolling in February for the 2022 Tours & Treks series as we head northward to the heart of love in Colorado, the city of Loveland. The Valentine’s Day Re-Mailing Program keeps the postal system in Loveland busy, stamping and sending out more than 200,000 envelopes filled with love every year. You’ll get your valentines personally stamped, ready to send off to the sweetheart of your choice; maybe you have more than one! It’s love in action in Loveland, and we’ll even take in one or two of the city’s famous statues (from the warmth of the bus, of course) and more.

Alfred Packer: A Colorado Mystery Revisited
History Colorado Center | Pop-Up Display through March 21
A quarrelsome Civil War veteran. An ill-fated winter expedition into the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. And five bodies, exhumed more than 100 years later. Examine modern forensic analysis, a 19th century revolver, and other archival materials to (re)consider the mysterious and sensational case of Alfred Packer, the so-called Colorado Cannibal at the center of History Colorado’s thrilling new podcast episode, “Flesh for Fantasy.”

House Museum Book Club
Online | Feb. 6, 12:30-2 p.m.
Join the Center for Colorado Women's History and the Molly Brown House Museum online or in-person for a collaborative book club hosted by two treasured Denver house museums. We chose six titles to read and discuss in 2022. On February 6th at 12:30 p.m., we will discuss On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles. Register and you will be on the email list to get in-person information and online access closer to the discussion date.

Members Only Behind-the-Scenes Collection Tour: Horses
Virtual | Feb. 8, 1-2:00 p.m.
History Colorado invites its members to a special virtual event with curator Kevin Smith. This event will crack open the vaults and explore History Colorado's collection to explore all the objects and artifacts that didn't make it in our newest exhibit, https://www.historycolorado.org/horseshttps://www.historycolorado.org/horses. This is a member benefit and offered only to History Colorado members! Information on memberships can be found on History Colorado’s membership page.

Bold Women. Change History. Women’s History Symposium
History Colorado Center | Feb. 26, 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
In conjunction with the Bold Women. Change History. initiative, History Colorado hosts a gathering of scholars, researchers, and others from all walks of life to explore how women’s history is found in unexpected places. This symposium will feature a keynote from Dr. Karen Roybal, assistant professor of Southwest Studies at Colorado College, multiple panel discussions, presentations, and catered lunch.

Hands-On History Camp Registration Opens
History Colorado Center | Now Available
Registration is now available for History Colorado’s Hands-On History summer camps at the History Colorado Center! This summer of programming features themes covering the “superheroes” that made Colorado the state it is today, space exploration, archaeology, and even the ocean and the role of water in Colorado. For more information: luke.perkins@state.co.us.

What’s Your Story? Exhibit Update
History Colorado Center | Ongoing
Included with general admission
What's Your Story? at the History Colorado Center will be updated in February to honor the newest recipients of CiviCO’s Governor’s Citizenship Medals. Eight awards were bestowed for 2021 to Wilma and Wellington Webb, Fabian Jimenez, Tim Foster, Dan Holt and Kelly Seidl, Kelly Collins & Lockheed Martin, Jill Hunsaker Ryan, Jerry Gryglak, and Nick Muerdter. History Colorado will add additional changemakers to the award-winning exhibit at the same time. These include doctor and refugee advocate P.J. Parmar, conservationist Enos Mills, Southern Ute Tribal elder Alden Naranjo, Colorado’s first female physician Alida Avery, and museum founders Jose Aguayo (El Museo de las Américas) and Paul Stewart (Black American West Museum), among others.

Coming in March! Snowbound Strength: Horses in the Rocky Mountain Winter
History Colorado Center | March 11–May 15, 2022
Snowy mornings are different for outdoor photographer Todd Bacon. While some of us see uninviting flurries and pour another cup of coffee, Bacon sees an opportunity. Camera in hand, he sets out at dawn to create evocative images of horses in this harsh environment. Experience more than a dozen of his arresting images in this new exhibit of large-format photographs at the History Colorado Center, a hearty complement to the ongoing main-floor exhibition The Power of Horses.

Just Announced! Viva La Causa: Art and Activism in Colorado
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects Award to History Colorado for Viva La Causa: Art and Activism in Colorado. This multifaceted project researches, collects, and exhibits artwork produced during the Colorado Chicano/a Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Expected to open in late 2022, its final exhibit—at Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center in the San Luis Valley, before traveling to El Pueblo History Museum in Pueblo—will place the artwork within its broader cultural and historical context, while contemporary artworks will provide a resonant juxtaposition for today’s audiences.

Service Enterprise Certification from Points of Light and Spark the Change Colorado
History Colorado has been recognized for its service to communities through engagement and integration of volunteers across the state. This commitment to volunteer engagement is a core principle of History Colorado and a foundational way that we work to meet our communities where they are and honor the work they are doing with us. More information about this certification, which lasts through 2024, is available at sparkthechangecolorado.org.

IMAGE CREDITS: “Bold Women. Change History. Symposium” banner: History Colorado; Black in Denver photos: Narkita Gold; Hands-On History Summer Camp: History Colorado.

HISTORY COLORADO PRESS ROOM

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 142-year-old institution that operates Colorado’s oldest museum, ten additional museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is the nation’s largest preservation program of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state.

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and nine other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information.