CHAUTAUQUA AUDITORIUM

We offer wine, beer, water, and other non-alcoholic beverages at Auditorium shows. Most events will have both the Terrace Bar and the Picnic Shelter Bar open. Food and drinks from the Terrace Bar are allowed inside of the Auditorium. Some Auditorium events will have hot dogs and burgers for sale at the Picnic Shelter, and most events will have cookies and snacks available for purchase. Please refer to your pre-event email to learn more about the concessions available for your show.

If you have any questions, please contact the Box Office at [email protected] or 303-440-7666.

Permitted Items

• Plastic transparent water bottles
• Aluminum water bottles
• Phones and cameras without removable lenses, unless prohibited by the show
• Seat cushions and soft-sided seat backs (12’’ x 16’’ or smaller)
• Cloth bags, purses, and small soft backpacks (12’’ x 16’’ x 12’’ or smaller), must be able to fit under your ticketed seating area
• Blankets, must not extend beyond your ticketed seating area
• Binoculars
• Medically necessary items after proper inspection at entrance
• Baby formula
• Swiss army knives (with blades 3” or smaller), Nail clippers
• Other items as determined by facility management

Prohibited Items

• Absolutely no food or beverages (except water)
• Gum
• Glass bottles/objects or beverage cans
• Animals (except service dogs)
• Illegal drugs, alcoholic beverages, marijuana or cannabis products
• Weapons or items construed as weapons (i.e. knives, Leatherman’s, pepper spray, stun-guns, firearms, etc.)
• Coolers (both soft and hard sided), picnic baskets (there is limited space to store coolers and picnic baskets during concerts in bins by the auditorium entrances)
• Bags, framed packs, or items larger than 12” x 16” x 12” (all personal possessions must fit under the patron’s designated seat)
• Metal framed seat cushions and chairs
• Strollers
• Laser pointers / pens, glow sticks
• Air horns, bullhorns, whistles, noisemakers, etc.
• Confetti, glitter and helium balloons
• Signs or banners
• Sparklers, fireworks, smoke bombs, lighters, etc.
• Bikes, skateboards, roller skates, inline skates, use of roller shoes, etc.
• Hula hoops
• Selfie sticks
• Umbrellas too large to fit under your seat without obstruction (there is limited space to store larger umbrellas in bins by the auditorium entrances)
• GoPros, professional cameras or cameras with removable lenses
• Laptops and iPads
• Unapproved pamphlets, handouts, advertisements, etc.
• Remote controlled flying devices or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)
• Any smoking or vaping devices, tobacco products or electronic cigarettes
• Other items as determined by facility management

For your safety and the safety of others, guests and their possessions are subject to inspection as a condition of admittance. Please have your bags open and available for inspection. If a guest is carrying a prohibited item, the guest may be asked to remove the item from the facility or dispose of it, or the guest may be asked to leave. Any guest refusing a search of any kind (either personal or bag) will be refused entry and is not eligible for a refund on their ticket purchase.

ADA access to the Auditorium is available at the South entrance. ADA seating is available in the venue (please see seating chart for more information). Designated accessible parking for persons with disabilities is also available adjacent to the Auditorium.

Please refer to a Colorado Chautauqua map for designated parking spots. All parking is “first come, first served.” For accessibility questions or accommodations during a performance, please contact the Box Office at [email protected].

See COVID-19 recommendations and precautions from Boulder County here.

The Auditorium was built in 53 days by 75 men and their draft animals in 1898. More than 4000 people gathered there on Opening Day, July 4, 1898. People sat on hard benches and endured clouds of dust from the sawdust-covered floor as wind blew through the open walls. The walls were enclosed the following year, the benches were slowly replaced by “opera seats,’’ and the floor was covered in concrete. Many visitor comforts have been added since, but the history of this landmark structure remains a key part of its magic.

The seats in sections A, AL, AR, B, BL and BR are beautiful, wooden-backed opera seats with padded seat cushions. Some seats were installed around 1917 and some in the 1940/50s. All have been recently restored. Some patrons choose to bring a small back cushion to make themselves more comfortable.

Since it was built in 1898, the Chautauqua Auditorium has hosted countless legendary performers and artists, from early speakers William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley to Dave Brubeck, Ken Kesey, and Norman Blake. More recently, our stage presented Bela Fleck, Robert Cray, Gipsy Kings, Ali Farka Toure, Ralph Stanley, David Byrne, Indigo Girls, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi, Keb’ Mo’, Bob Weir, Toots & The Maytals, Joan Baez, Lyle Lovett, Gillian Welch, Gregory Alan Isakov, Umphrey’s McGee, Stephen King, B.B. King, and so many more great artists.

The Chautauqua Auditorium is open from May through October and is heated and cooled by Mother Nature. This means there is no air-conditioning or heating in the venue. We have installed evaporative coolers and ceiling fans to help lower the temperature of the building and keep air moving on hot nights. The Auditorium’s temperature is also regulated slightly by raising or lowering the sliders on the sides of the building. For maximum comfort, we suggest keeping an eye on the weather forecast. We advise bringing a jacket for September and October shows.

The Chautauqua Auditorium is an indoor venue but with its century-old, barn-like construction, it shares the same ambient temperature (and sometimes breezes) as the outdoors.

Children are welcome in all of our venues, but bringing infants or toddlers to a performance in the Auditorium is discouraged because they can be a distraction for performers and other audience members. Occasionally, individual productions may have recommended age limits.

The entire Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark is a 100% smoke-free campus. Per City of Boulder ordinance, smoking of any substance is prohibited in all city parks and open space. In addition, the use of any smoking or vaping devices, including electronic cigarettes, is prohibited. This ban includes the Colorado Chautauqua grounds, cottages, lodges & venues, including the Auditorium. Thank you very much for your cooperation!

There are no restrooms in the Auditorium. During our summer concert series, guests may use the restrooms directly adjacent to the Auditorium on the west side of the building. During other times of the year, restrooms are located approximately 100 yards north of the Auditorium at the Dining Hall – just outside the south entrance to the Dining Hall.

Chautauqua Auditorium welcomes service dogs utilized by Guests with disabilities. Service dogs must be harnessed, leashed or tethered at all times, unless special circumstances exist, and will be required to rest in their seating area of the individual with a disability, rather than in the aisle. A Guest whose service dog poses a threat to the safety of other Guests and employees, or whose dog is not housebroken, may be asked to escort the dog off the premises. Any service dog that displays vicious behavior towards Guests or employees may be denied entry or removed from the theatre. All other animals are prohibited.

If you have lost an item at the Auditorium, please contact the Box Office. To contact the Box Office, please call 303-440-7666 or email [email protected]

Please see seating chart for more information.