December Members of the Month:
Tim & Diana Rupinski
Fine Arts Center members for 8
years
Why did you
become a member of the FAC?
We
relocated to Colorado Springs in 1987 having vacationed here in 1984. Colorado
offers beautiful scenery and great outdoor activities like skiing, hiking and
biking. With children in Junior and Senior High Schools, we integrated into the
community and discovered amazing attractions such as the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo,
Colorado Springs Symphony, Pioneers Museum, Colorado College, and the Fine Arts
Center (FAC). We visited the FAC about six times a year, for many years; mostly
on free days. About 13 years ago, we bought FAC tickets to a Reverend Billy C.
Wirtz performance (possibly the best honky-tonk singer and piano player you
have ever heard). Then we started to attend FAC stage plays. The personal touch
and intimacy of the FAC rivaled big city venues. We then explored the benefits
of FAC membership. Not restricted to any days, we could visit when we wanted,
exchange play tickets, do-again viewing of exhibitions, and free parking. Our
membership costs us less than a one-seat Broncos game ticket and is a gift to
us and our granddaughter that gives back all year.
What is your
favorite work of art on display at the FAC right now?
This is
certainty a tough question. A favorite of ours is a bronze sculpture in the
tactile gallery, Wish I Could That.
It reminds us of the joys of youth and of our granddaughter’s enormous
possibilities as she grows into an adult. The FAC’s Chihuly and Santos
collections should be acclaimed nationwide. We also enjoyed the Floyd Tunson
exhibition, Floyd D. Tunson: Son of Pop
(2013), which included portraits, sculptures, and the wooden Haitian Dream Boats. The FAC store
should sell items unique to the museum based on the Center’s collections.
What has been one of your
favorite plays, classes or exhibits at the FAC?
Your theater is
a hidden treasure, and producer Scott Levy, sparkling. Each year the FAC offers
four to five plays in a season subscription. At around $20 a ticket it sure
beats a Big Mac meal. Each season we average four of five performances, which
we really enjoy. Some of our favorites were Neil Simon’s trilogy of Brighton Beach Memoirs (2007), Jean
Sheppard’s A Christmas Story (2012) (from his book titled Wanda Hickie’s Golden Night of Memories and Other Disasters, how
can we not laugh at ourselves growing up?), and A Christmas Carol (2008) with Colorado Springs’ own Sally Hybl and
her children (the last time we saw Sally was in Chicago, a great production but a dark play). Then there was Sweeney Todd (2010), certainty dark but
the best staged play this side of a Broadway small theater. Oh, let’s not
forget Into the Woods (2007),
awesome; and last year’s Rupinski Award – Agnes
of God (2014), a truly remarkable and powerful performance.
What do you do
for fun in Colorado Springs?
We
are retired and able to enjoy each day to its fullest. Colorado College is
another hidden treasure. The Music (Michael and Susan Grace, and Daniel Brink)
and English (Steven Hayward) Departments sponsor almost daily free events, from
student and faculty mini-concerts at Packard Hall to visiting authors at Gates
Common Room. As almost natives we can’t help being outdoors. We ski, bike,
hike, skate, walk trails, and enjoy limitless blue sky days. Hobbies include
crafting, woodworking, sewing, and volunteering at Cheyenne Mountain State
Park.
Other thoughts…
In
August 2000, we were flying on Delta from Regan via Atlanta to Colorado
Springs. It was 95 degrees in DC and 101 in Atlanta with 100% humidity. Exiting
the aircraft in Atlanta, we were greeted by a young girl in a red jacket,
sweating profusely. “Where are you going?” she asked, “Can I direct you?” We
answered, Colorado Springs, we live there. “Oh, oh,” she replied, “I wish I
could live there too!” Living here means being part of the greater community.
We encourage anyone who has not experienced the FAC to come down and browse. If
you like, join and participate in the wide variety of opportunities that lift
the spirit.