Presenter Profile - Rhonda Welch

Name: Rhonda Welch

Position: Festival Coordinator,

Culture, Parks, and Recreation Department, City of Greeley, CO

How did you get into presenting in the first place?

Before my husband and I moved to Greeley from Sterling, we used to come to concerts at UNC. We were anxious to get to the big city. When we moved here, the Arts Picnic was already underway, so I volunteered my time with the Arts Picnic while I was getting to know people in Greeley. I was a volunteer for the Cultural Affairs Department (now combined with the Parks and Recreation Department).

When the bond finally passed to build our new Performing Arts Center, which would be umbrella-ed under the Cultural Affairs Department, I applied for and got the position of Volunteer Coordinator and Special Events Coordinator from 1988-1991.

I helped with the opening of the Union Colony Civic Center (UCCC) in September 1988. We celebrated our 25^th year last September. As the Special Events Coordinator for the new performing arts center, I had the pleasure of presenting and producing Tony Bennett, Flash Cadillac with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, and A Tribute to Gershwin show. It was unbelievably exciting to be a part of something so wonderful for Greeley.

The City’s Festival Coordinator position came up the next year and I accepted that position. My job with the UCCC, although incredibly rewarding, was very time-consuming and I had two young boys at home. As Mike and Dave grew older, I “volunteered” them (as well as my husband Tom, who also works for the City) to help with the festivals. Some jobs they liked and some . . . not so much! When I started my new position, I was coordinating the annual Arts Picnic and Festival of Trees in addition to Greeley’s Cinco de Mayo Celebration (the latter has now been turned over to the Latino Chamber of Northern Colorado).

What events do you produce now?

I’m responsible for creating the schedule for Greeley’s Neighborhood Nights, a free program on five evenings throughout the summer. We present movies on a large, inflatable screen in Greeley’s beautiful parks, and I hire performers to entertain the crowd before the movie begins. Often 500 or more people show up in the park, arriving early with their picnics, blankets and lawn chairs.

Then there’s the Arts Picnic, which takes place in beautiful, historic Lincoln Park with a kickoff concert on the 9th Street Plaza. This weekend festival draws more than 25,000 participants to downtown Greeley and includes some 150 arts and crafts vendors. For this festival I book 24 or more stage performances as well as roving performers. The festival has grown from one stage to two stages, and now there’s a third stage in the kids’ area. 

The Festival of Trees is a weeklong gala that includes elaborately decorated tree displays designed and assembled by local businesses, individuals, and organizations along with musical events, children’s activities, horse and carriage rides, and much more. Hundreds of performers donate their time for the festival as lobby entertainment amidst the beautiful trees as well as on two stages, one in the Hensel Phelps Theatre that accommodates 200 patrons and the other in the Monfort Concert Hall that seats 1600. People come from all over northern Colorado for the festival not only to stroll through the trees but to also take part in the festival’s special events: The Whoville Holiday, with a Whoville Hair Salon, photos with the Grinch, and much more; a Silver Bells Social for seniors; a Sip & Shop Ladies’ Night Out, and a Teddy Bear Bash for little preschoolers--all of which usually sell out each year.

I’m also on the steering committee for Greeley’s annual Blues Jam, now in its 10^th year.

It’s a wonderful job giving me the privilege to get to know so many incredible Colorado artists and performers.

How have you seen the arts change since you've been presenting?

Greeley tends to be a rather conservative community, but the people who now live here are so diverse. A part of Greeley is made up of East African immigrants employed by JBS Swift & Company, and then there is our large Hispanic community, many of whom came to northern Colorado from Mexico to work in the fields and stayed to raise their families. We are working very hard to immerse those cultures into our community, supporting and celebrating their artistic talents. 

We are also in the process of applying to join one of seven communities in Colorado to be designated a Creative District, which encompasses the adjoining areas of Greeley Downtown and the neighborhoods including and surrounding the University of Northern Colorado. It is a dynamic, diverse, active and arts-rich area where people live, work, create, innovate, learn, shop, dine, gather and play. I am so lucky to sit on the board of this organization.  www.greeleycreativedistrict.org

As far as I’m concerned, I was also so lucky to begin working for the City as one of the Union Colony Center’s original staff. Opening the UCCC was instrumental in spotlighting arts and entertainment in Greeley at that time. Then the economy did what it did, and we felt it as much as everyone else, especially in the arts. Now that the country seems to be in recovering mode, I’m seeing an emergence of new performers and a re-focus on the arts. Hopefully we are once again realizing  how extremely important they are to our communities!

Why have these events been so successful?

One factor is that Greeley has wonderful  volunteers who are committed to the arts. We absolutely could not do these events without all the help of civic-minded folks who live here and generously give their time.

As a presenter, you always have to challenge yourself to create new events. You have to constantly tweak to keep them fresh.

Do you attend the Colorado Performing Arts Jamboree?

Yes, I have attended for years. I have never left the Jamboree without also booking so many performers and entertainers from that program. People are crazy not to go there every year. It’s the best resource for performing art and entertainment.