Fun, Funky, Quirky Colorado Springs
Richard White, April 27, 2014
When visiting a new city we always look for things that aren't in the tourist brochures or on the first page of Google. We call it FFQing (fun, funky and quirky)!
Most often they are not planned; they just happen as we explore the streets and alleys of urban neighbourhoods on foot with our eyes and ears wide open. Sometimes the FFQ experiences do happen at the tourist hot spots, but even if they do happen there, we try to find an offbeat twist.
Here are a few of our favourite FFQ moments from a recent walkabout in 'Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This is the boys' washroom of the Ivywild School which was an elementary school until a few years ago. The art adds a whole new dimension to learning your ABCs.
Ivywild is a huge yellow brick 1912 school that was sold to two local young cultural pioneers who have converted it into a multi-use community hub. It now is home to a Bristol Brewery, a bike shop, bakery, charcuterie, cocktail/coffee lounge and an art school. It also hosts many events, including a farmers' market. We will be writing more about this exciting urban revitalization project in the future.
We were impressed by how they retained the fun elementary school character of the space by retaining the wall murals throughout the building.
We loved walking around downtown Colorado Springs as there were lots of interesting shops, restaurants and cafes. This storefront dance studio had three painted blue pads on the sidewalk, each showing the foot work of a different type of dance. We loved the "freestyle" dance the most. The black lines are the shadow of a patio fence, which add a quirky sense of perspective.
We love "window licking" (the literal English translation of the French phrase for window shopping is "window licking"). The crazy quilt collage-like imagery is a wonderful reflection of the city's street culture. The Colorado Running Room had one of the best FFQ windows in Colorado Springs.
Downtown Colorado Springs is very pedestrian-oriented with its wide sidewalks, clean streets/alleys and mix of historic and new architecture. It is definitely worth a couple of hours of flaneuring.
Brenda loved the Blueberry Lemon Streusel pancakes at the Over Easy diner - the best she has ever tasted. The combination of favours was fun and the presentation was funky.
A short walk out of the downtown through the mansion district lies the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre - definitely a FFQ place to visit. Not only is the 1936 art deco building with its 2008 modern addition a fun space to explore, but many of the exhibitions and artworks had FFQ elements.
This is world renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly's "Orange Hornet Chandelier" - or as most people call it the red pepper sculpture. It consists of 300+ glass vessels linked together to create it. It will be the centerpiece for the blockbuster exhibition of his work running from May 3 to September 28, 2014.
This was one of many fun folk art pieces in the gallery. Some were very large like this one while others were more small scale. There was even art made from chicken bones.
One the edge of the city is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Colorado Springs is the Garden of the Gods. It is truly a sacred place with it surreal, orange rock formations. I was intrigued when a young boy asked me "have I had seen the Indian Head?" When I answered "No" he quickly took me to see it. I couldn't believe I missed it given how obvious and huge it was.
The "Balancing Rock" is the signature rock formation in the Garden of the Gods. It is a fun place to walk around and under (if you dare). It is amazing how accessible the formations are to the public and just a 15-minute drive from downtown. You could have spent all day there walking the trails, having a picnic and watching the movie at the Visitor Center.
Perhaps the quirkiest experience I've had in a long time was feeding the giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Barely get in the gate, visitors are welcomed by several hungry giraffes with their long tongues sticking out waiting to be fed. Two dollars gets you a handful of lettuce.
One of our most fun experiences wandering around downtown was to happen upon a house that had been converted into a funky, landscape architecture office. Brenda needed a stamp so we went in to ask about the design of the house, as well as where we might purchase a stamp. We left not only with information on the home-to-office conversion but also with a free stamp (the woman insisted on giving Brenda the postage for her postcard). Yes, we still send postcards!
However, the stamp didn't stick very well so then we needed some scotch tape. As we were passing another intriguing street office space with the words "ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD" on the window, Brenda decided to head in and see if they might have some tape. Inside were four young people with their laptops, two on couch and two at desks. After the shock of unexpected visitors, they quickly asked how they could help us. After first bringing some "duct" tape (she should have been more specific), they quickly found the scotch tape she needed.
In the meantime, I was busy taking photos of their street front window, being as intrigued by the words and their juxtaposition with the cathedral across the road. Once I had finished taking my photos, we started chatting about things to see and do in Colorado Springs and what they did. Ironically, they develop apps and one is for enhanced photography - VSCOcam. We quickly downloaded it and they gave me a quick tutorial (more info at VSCO.CO)
Now that was a fun, flaneuring experience!
Just in case you weren't yet convinced that downtown Colorado Springs is an FFQ mecca, I'll end this blog with an ice cream cone window cartoon character inviting you to a sidewalk peanut butter tasting (Pad Thai, Pumpkin Spice, S'mores etc.) - that was a first for us!
If you like this blog, you might like:
FFQing Calgary's Udderly Art Pasture