By Katie Soenke

In Woodland Park, community connection can look like a free concert, a round of golf, a children’s playgroup or simply a cup of coffee in a welcoming place.

Those gathering spots are sometimes called “third spaces”—places outside of home and work where people can meet, spend time and feel part of the community.

The Ute Pass Cultural Center, Shining Mountain Golf Course and Community Partnership Family Resource Center are three local examples.

A familiar place for local groups

The Ute Pass Cultural Center provides event and meeting space for nonprofits, including smaller organizations that may not have a building of their own.

Melody Campbell, who oversees events for the City of Woodland Park at the Cultural Center and Shining Mountain Golf Course, said every nonprofit can use the center once at no cost. Discounted rental rates and fundraising opportunities are also available.

“A lot of locals’ third space—or where they inhabit—has to do with a nonprofit they link up with, or they’re involved with, or volunteer for,” Campbell said.

Many organizations return year after year, which helps make the building feel familiar.

Some residents knew the building long before it became a cultural center. It served as a school until the 1980s, and Campbell said former students still recognize the hallways and rooms.

“There’s a lot of memories and history here when you walk in,” she said.

Today, the center hosts nonprofit fundraisers, community celebrations and free concerts supported by local sponsors.

“That is a great third space,” Campbell said. “One, because it’s free, and that’s important to us.”

Four hours can turn strangers into friends

Shining Mountain Golf Course offers a different kind of gathering place.

The course hosts tournaments, lessons and weekly men’s and women’s groups. Golfers may show up knowing only the people they came with, then find themselves paired with someone new.

“Then four hours of golfing, you know each other pretty well,” Campbell said.

Parents also gather in the lounge while their children take lessons, and beginners can learn course rules and etiquette before heading out on their own.

The six-week “Chip and Sip” program combines golf instruction for women with time to socialize afterward in the lounge.

Campbell said improvements at the city-owned course have helped make it more inviting to experienced golfers, newcomers and families.

More than programs

Community Partnership Family Resource Center offers more than 20 programs, but Cory Gorton, vice president of programs, said the building itself is also an important part of its work.

The grassroots nonprofit began in 1993 after legalized gaming brought more families and workers to Teller County. Community leaders saw a need for additional support for families with children.

The organization started in a small closet. Today, it serves about 1,800 Teller County residents each year.

Its playgroup meets three days a week for families with children from birth through age 5. Children can play and become familiar with a classroom-style setting while parents meet other adults raising young children.

“It’s all about social connections,” Gorton said.

She said those connections are especially valuable in a mountain community where distance and geography can leave people isolated.

“Finding those third spaces for people to come together that are nonjudgmental, very comfortable and very welcoming is important,” Gorton said.

Community Partnership also provides family support services, a supplemental food pantry and free fitness programs.

Yoga classes are offered Monday mornings and Wednesday evenings for participants 16 and older. The center also offers a free Core Foundational class.

But no class or appointment is required to walk through the door.

Residents can use the internet, meet a friend, grab a snack or drink coffee in the Family Café. Some stop in while waiting for a school pickup or another appointment.

“We’re not just a family resource center with programs,” Gorton said. “We are also just a place for people to come.”

Gorton said staff members want visitors to feel heard, even when the center cannot solve a problem immediately.

She described the organization as “community members helping our fellow community members.”

Across Woodland Park, that same idea is showing up in different ways—from golf lessons and concerts to playgroups and coffee.

The activities may bring people through the door, but the connections are what keep them coming back.