First, some very good news: The Dairy received a grant for general operating support in the amount of $30,000 from the AEC Trust on July 6. Another sizable grant is pending and we will let you know more about that soon. The generosity of those donors, and others before them, has helped us get through our lean summer season. Plans for increased financial sustainability are in the works and we will keep you up to date.

Programming

By all measures, The Dairy is lively, energetic and thriving, with art happening here daily.

Executive Director Rich Harris reports an amazing 38 percent increase in attendance compared to the second quarter of 2008, with an 8 percent increase in the number of performances offered. Rich says 66,000 people visited The Dairy in the first half of this year, not counting parents who hang out waiting for their kids to finish music and dance lessons.

Big performers: Edible Book Festival, 260 at one event; CenterStage, 1,000 attending 10 shows; Silicon Flatiron Reception, 200 at one event; Frequent Flyers, 1,137 attending 6 shows; CU Journalism, 150 at one event; 3rd Law, 563 attending 4 shows; Boulder Ballet’s Student Recitals, 800 over 4 shows; Sound Circle, 441 attending 3 shows; Schiff Dance Collective, 199 at one show; and En Fuego, 661 attending 3 shows.

A few notable triumphs and future plans for The Dairy and our resident organizations:

  • Boulder EnsembleTheater Company’s Morisot Reclining, the organization’s first world premiere, received two nominations for the Colorado Theatre Guild’s 2009 Henry Awards. The play by William Kovacsik was nominated for outstanding new play, and costume designer Brenda King for outstanding costume design.
  • Parlando’s The Secret Garden, performed at CU’s ATLAS Center, added three performances to accommodate more fans after two weeks of sellout crowds.
  • The Ditch project, part of a multi-faceted show at three venues including The Dairy, celebrating Boulder’s Sesquicentennial, examined Boulder’s irrigation ditches over the last 150 years.
  • En Fuego Latino’s Evolution brought in clapping, cheering crowds for its high-energy Latin dance.
  • The Boulder Ballet’s acclaimed performance in March of excerpts from “Cirque D’Amour” at Ballet Builders 2009 at the Dicapo Opera Theater in New York City.
  • BETC will present SantaLand Diaries during the holidays.
  • The Visual Arts Task Force curated 61 applications for gallery exhibition in 2010.

Facilities

  • We’re focused on a quantum leap into the future for our building. Motivated by plans and funding from the City of Boulder for life safety and ADA compliance, architect and longtime Friend of The Dairy Stephen Sparn, assisted by Deneuve Construction Services, has developed a proposal for a new façade for our City-owned building, one that follows in the tradition of adaptive re-use The Dairy has long exemplified. It will provide additional program space, renewable energy resources and energy efficiency. We’re also looking at ways to present film at The Dairy on a regular basis.
  • In January we received a $20,000 grant from the Boulder Arts Commission to purchase new audio and lighting equipment for the Carsen and East theaters and new lighting for the Performance Space.

Board and leadership

  • Executive Director Rich Harris joined us in August, bringing to the job a new level of professionalism. Rich has assembled a strong new staff to help run The Dairy Center. He had been executive director of the Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton since 2005, and previously events center manager at Teikyo Loretto Heights University in Denver. He has bachelor’s degrees in performing arts and music from the University of California at Riverside and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies-performing arts from San Francisco State University.
  • Greg Johnson, a financial planner with Gold Medal Waters, joined the board in February as treasurer, bringing us much-needed financial expertise. He is a founder and former vice president/technology of Buzzwire.com.
  • Other new board members include architect Jon Chambers of Chambers Architecture; Trevor Bynum, marketing executive at WhiteWave Foods; Kevin Mynatt, former managing director of the Central City Opera; and Padraic O’Connor, attorney with Faegre and Benson.
  • They join board chair Richard Polk, principal, Pedestrian Shops and former Boulder city councilman; Lyn Ciocca, vice chair, marketing professional (on leave); Amy Hartman, secretary, attorney with Hartman Employment Law Practice LLC; and board members Susan Deans, former editor of the Camera; Stacey Kramer, principal, Brandplay marketing and management consultant; Catherine Moll, marketing professional; Sharon Nehls, longtime teacher with Boulder Valley Schools; and Richard Reeves, strategic planning and organizational development consultant, formerly with NASA. City Council member Angelique Espinosa and Boulder Arts Council director Donna Gartenmann also serve on the board.
  • As Rich Harris joined us, board members felt we needed to jumpstart our own operations. A December board retreat, funded by a grant from the Boulder Arts Council, brought in consultant Rebecca Reynolds to help. We developed committees and task forces that better served our needs. The board is focused on fundraising, marketing and programming.

Staff:

  • Robb Neumann joined us in March as development director, a part-time position. Robb has held fundraising and marketing positions at metro area nonprofits.
  • Mary Horrocks, project manager for the Longmont Studio Tour, joined us May 1 as art gallery coordinator.

Fundraising and finances:

We’re weathering the economy day to day. Our treasurer’s analysis has shown that we help fund every performance that happens at The Dairy, by providing the venue and by underwriting a portion of the cost.

We’re proud that we are able to help art happen, through the money raised by activities and donations from our supporters. We walk close to the financial edge sometimes but thanks to friends such as you, we continue to sustain the arts in Boulder. Rich Harris and his staff pay close attention to expenses to lessen the recession’s impact, and bringing in a professional development director is a big step toward expanding our donor base. We hope you’ll continue to support us as we accommodate with pride the growing presence of art at The Dairy.

  • Our annual Kitchens on Fire fundraiser May 15-16 brought in $17,500 with 600 attendees. We’re looking at plans for more frequent, smaller fundraisers during the year, as well as a Nuts and Bolts major event in the spring. We’re looking for leader volunteers to help with these events.
  • We renegotiated our contract with Front Gate ticketing, which handles our box office operations, so we receive more money for each ticket sold. We also sell tickets for other organizations including the Bach Festival, Boulder Philharmonic and Mahler Fest. More than $6,000 in additional revenue came in May and June from handling tickets for just two performances.

You may contact Rich Harris, rich@thedairy.org, or any of the board members, with questions or comments about The Dairy Center.  We’ll be updating you more frequently in the future.

Please let us know your thoughts about this update – useful, interesting, welcome? – at suedeans@comcast.net.

Sincerely,

Richard Polk, Chair, The Dairy Center Board

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Dairy Center staff