Dr. Charles Smith (affectionately known as Chip) has been a resident of Gilpin County for the last 20 years. He is a former Music Professor from Hastings College in Nebraska and always wanted to live in the mountains of Colorado. He retired early so he could live here.

Chip has been involved with the community and wears many hats; he is a volunteer firefighter with Timberline Fire, he delivers papers for The Mountain-Ear, he is involved with church activities, he is the director of Peak to Peak Players and involved with the Belvidere Players acting troupe, and most recently, performed with the Central City Opera Company.

Chip and his wife, Donna, always loved going to the Central City Opera over the years. He was thrilled when he was hired two years ago as a Principal Player for the show Carousel by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The season was cancelled last year due to Covid, but Chip got the opportunity to perform this summer at Hudson Gardens. Chip played three roles in the production, Mr. Bascome, Starkeeper and Dr. Seldon. He enjoyed working with a wonderfully talented cast and feels they became a close community due to the challenges they faced putting on the production in an outdoor venue. They were unable to do a full show during rehearsals a week prior to the opening of the show due to rain, and they were forced to cancel three daytime performances due to intense heat. Chip thinks the evening performance was the best and looks back on the experience as a labor of love.

Chip is looking forward to future events without the impact of Covid. Peak to Peak Players closed down production in March of 2020. They were in production for the play Puffs and Chip hopes to get back to completing the show at some point. The group has been unable to use the stage at the Stables and lost access to the auditorium at Gilpin School where they had previously done summer and afterschool productions. Chip hopes to do a production in the Spring of 2022.

When asked what Chip likes best about living in the mountains, he thinks the weather is unbelievable. The summers are the best, but the winters can be a little challenging. He advises anyone who would like to move to the mountains to be self-sufficient, have a good vehicle, have good time management and build resources.

For more information about upcoming performances, as well as information about the 2022 season, check out https:// centralcityopera.org/

For information about Peak to Peak Players, check out https:// peaktopeakplayers.com/.

For information about Timberline Fire Department, check out https:// timberlinefpd.colorado.gov/

For information about The Mountain- Ear, check out https://www.themtnear.com/.