The BIG Create @ CAE
It’s a beautiful day to make a mess, and a messy day to make something beautiful!
Saturday, June 13 | 10 AM - 4 PM
Introducing The BIG Create, a free art festival in Evergreen, Colorado, where creativity takes over the entire Center for the Arts Evergreen campus for a day. Designed for all ages, this hands-on community event invites you to explore, play, and connect through art in ways that feel joyful, welcoming, and just a little bit wild. If you’re looking for things to do in Evergreen this summer or a family-friendly event near Denver, this is your destination for a day filled with color, creativity, and big beautiful messes.
Go all-in with an epic 360-degree splatter paint session. Decode clues in our Sculpture Scavenger Hunt for fun prizes. Explore a wide range of all that CAE’s arts education program has to offer—from glass and ceramic projects to self-portraits and upcycled sculptures. Enjoy live music (or make your own!), art market shopping, food and drinks, and more in the fresh mountain air. Whether you come to make a masterpiece, try something totally new, or simply soak in the creativity around you indoors and out, this is a day to connect, create, and celebrate the heART of our community.
Create for Fun (and Fundraising)
Many activities are completely free, including the self-portrait station, community art collab, and our custom photo booth. Unique hands-on art projects, face painting, and the Splatter Tent Experience use tickets priced at $7 each (most activities require just 1 or 2 to participate), and proceeds support CAE’s many free community outreach programs. It’s a choose-your-own creative adventure!
Make Something New
Sculpture, ceramic tiles, and fused glass projects
Food stamping and instrument making
Community art collaboration
Self-Portrait station
Play & Explore
Photo booth and gallery exhibition
Splatter experience and face painting
Property-wide scavenger hunt
Yard games
Hang Out
Live music on the back porch stage
Artisanal market
Food trucks & drinks
Nonprofit and sponsor booths
Performances
Non-profit Partners
SCFD
with special guest Penny the bear
from 10 am – 12 pm
Wild Aware
Help name their new Elk Mascot!
Food & Drink
Artist Vendors
Beckie Covill | Brook Forest Soap
Matt Snook | Wood
Taylor Carlton | Cicada Glassworks
Yumi Chen | Jewelry Designs
Kristie Connon | Acrylic
Amber Swanson | Painted Jewelry
Gia Nold | Mixed Media
Beth Knox | Sun Mountain Bath
Lauran Close | Fiber
Peter Lawlor | Photography
Where to find us:
CAE is closer than you think. Just 3 minutes off of I-70 at Exit 252 (Evergreen Parkway / El Rancho), our campus sits right at the gateway to the mountains, making it a quick and scenic stop from Denver without the drive all the way into Evergreen proper — though there’s lot’s of reasons to do that too!
Thank you to our 2026 Sponsors:
