pARTiculars, the Lafayette art cooperative, recently applied for our Art Gallery Liquor Permit which is newly being offered in Colorado.  The Lafayette City Clerk has been extremely helpful and supportive in helping us file for the permit.  We are Lafayette's first applicant so it's new and exciting to all of us!

The City and County of Denver explains the new permit:

"Effective July 1, 2008, art galleries are authorized to offer to the public, on a limited basis, complimentary wine and other liquors on their premises under an Art Gallery Liquor Permit.  A permit may only be issued to a gallery for four (4) hours in any one day, and for up to fifteen (15) days in one calendar year."

View the State of Colorado definition here.

View the story in The Lafayette News about the pARTiculars liquote permit

At pARTiculars we are learning that getting a liquor license no reason to mess around.  The City of Lafayette required our store manager to attend a city council meeting and a training session on how to serve alcohol responsibly.  As owners, we have all been informed of the sanctions and guidelines for liquor and beer code violations.

It is an involved process filing for any liquor license, but the Art Gallery Permit is a bit more streamlined than others and a perfect fit for a place like ours.  We believe that being able to serve wine and beer at our Grand Opening Celebration and other art events will add to the experience of those joining us for the evening.

I moved back to the Boulder area about a year ago, after being away for eight years. As a resident of the City of Lafayette and Boulder County, I have been impressed and overwhelmed by the opportunities to progress my art career. I have found avenues to be part of a studio tour (EBCA), help found a new artist-owned cooperative (pARTiculars), participate in fundraising for a non-profit through my art (Art for a Cause) and gain PR coverage of my activities as an artist (Southwest Magazine, Sept 2008 issue).

Given all of this exciting activity, I was pleasantly surprised to see two recent articles in the Boulder Daily Camera covering a national report by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) which named Boulder/Longmont area the #6 Artsy city in the U.S.. You can read the complete article titled, "It's Official: Boulder's Arty" here.

In response to the NEA article, Malia Thompson with the Boulder County Arts Alliance followed up with an editorial about how economically valuable artist are to our community. Not only does art enrich our spirits and expand our minds, but it is also a healthy economic engine. Art events (gallery shows, plays, concerts, galas, etc.) not only benefit the artists involved, but also the community entities (restaurants, hotels, retail businesses, and more) which support guests visiting the shows. Thank you Malia for sharing this insight. I hope it helps us develop a more complete understanding of the important role that the arts play in our society. Read the full editorial titled, "Art Community Needs Local Support" here.