Elisabeth Grove, Nederland. The 20th Annual High Peaks Art Festival will be held June 27-28, 2020, in Nederland, Colorado. Longtime Nederland resident Cathy Stiers has run the Festival for the past 11 years, starting off as the Artisan Coordinator in 2008 for the Nederland Chamber of Commerce. She purchased the High Peaks Art Festival in 2011 and has been its Director ever since. The Festival is a beloved community event, enthusiastically supported by local residents, businesses and visitors.
After a very enjoyable 11 years of running the High Peaks Art Festival, Cathy has now sold it to another long time Nederland resident and Festival organizer extraordinaire, Deb D’Andrea. Deb is well known in Nederland as the owner of 4TheLuvofDogz, taking care of furry friends since 2007 as a canine massage therapist and writing about critters in her column for The Mountain-Ear. She is also very well known in Nederland for assisting many of our community events, and has been a High Peaks Art Festival volunteer and Artist Award sponsor. She previously has volunteered as Volunteer Coordinator and Tent Manager for Frozen Dead Guy Days, and has volunteered at the Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Oktoberfest and the Backdoor Theater. Deb worked with Peak to Peak Healthy Communities to present the Nederland Old Fashioned July 4th Festival and Fireworks in 2015, one of the last non-fire ban years; and serves on the Board for Peak to Peak Music Association, handling Exhibitor Coordination for NedFest. She is well versed in many different aspects of coordinating events, and in particular knowing the needs of a Nederland event.
Prior to moving to Colorado, Deb worked with the MLB FanFest Festival team to recreate Cooperstown in Baltimore, Maryland, an event that saw well over 80,000+ attendees; she created and headed up two new festivals, Summer and FallFest, in Acton, Massachusetts; and has worn many hats throughout her festival journey including merchandise seller, volunteer coordinator, tent manager, stage manager, vendor coordinator, box office and festival manager. She loves Festivals and brings boundless energy and enthusiasm to her new role as Director of the High Peaks Art Festival.
Cathy Stiers is very excited to hand over the reins to Deb D’Andrea, knowing that she will continue her vision of the Festival’s mission to bring high caliber fine art and craft to Nederland every summer. Cathy and Deb are working together hand in hand to ensure a seamless transition, a transition that to the artists and Festival patrons will not even be noticeable.
All aspects of the Festival will remain the same, including the very popular Artist Award program. The Awards program will have a new sponsor in 2020, as Cathy will be the Best of Jewelry sponsor. Deb looks forward to working with everyone Cathy has worked with over these past eleven years; and encourages artists and interested sponsors to contact her at debdandrea@gmail.com.
(Originally published in the November 7, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
