The Rocky Mountain Folk School began offering classes in 2022, housed in a building provided by the town of Grand Lake. The school was born out of the Grand Lake Creative District’s mission to provide ongoing learning opportunities in traditional arts and crafts that engage and challenge individuals. Part of this work included offering classes for aspiring cowboy artisans.

Since 2022, instructors at the school have been teaching the next generation of craft creators throughout the Rocky Mountain region.

During an open house event on Saturday, Oct. 12, members of the Grand Lake Creative District unveiled a plan for the Rocky Mountain Folk School’s future endeavors. The Rocky Mountain Folk Schools aims to expand its class offerings into woodworking, leather working and metalsmithing. These classes require a more specialized industrial, “garage-style” space and the town provided the district with a parcel of land where it plans to build a dedicated facility, the Creative Hub. This space will house these workshops and further support this growing community of artisans.

The new Creative Hub will become a dedicated space for the Rocky Mountain Folk School and the Rocky Mountain Wooden Boat School. This state-of-the-art facility will host hands-on workshops in wooden boat building, paddleboard building, wood carving and wood turning, allowing both institutions to expand its offerings and deepen the community’s connection to these traditional crafts.

In partnership with the Cowboy Trades Association, the folk school will also serve as a hub for aspiring cowboy artisans. Trades such as leatherworking and metalsmithing with an emphasis on creating cowboy gear like saddles, boots, spurs and hats will be featured. These classes are designed to act as a stepping stone for attendees to explore potential career paths in these trades.

“These crafts are being lost, so that’s a big mission is preserving the craft,” said Grand County Economic Development Coordinator DiAnn Butler.

For anyone whose interested, facilitated apprenticeships with master artisans will be offered in order to guide them toward owning their own cowboy trade business and preserving these skills for future generations.

Additionally, this space will support high school workshops in woodworking, and it will be available for creative nonprofits to host events that require a workshop type environment.

This Creative Hub project has a fundraising goal of $200,000.

In addition to news about the school, the district revealed more information about Grand Lake’s Space to Create project. This initiative is designed to foster a thriving creative community by developing 18 affordable rental units for creatives, along with commercial and community spaces on the first floor.

The hope is that these spaces will serve as hubs for collaboration among local artists, entrepreneurs and community members. By supporting artists and providing affordable housing, this project will strengthen Grand Lake’s year round economy and helps with the district’s mission to cultivate a vibrant, inclusive environment where creativity can flourish.

This project is currently 80% funded with $9.1 million raised out of the $12 million goal.

To learn more about the district’s work and ongoing projects, visit GrandLakeCreativeDistrict.org.