GOLDEN, Colo., October 10, 2023 -- You can be forgiven in Golden, Colorado if you raise your gaze to the high Western buttes and foothill mountains that surround this beautiful town.  But if you spend all your time looking up, you will be missing a lot of fun.

The second installation of the Golden Public Art Commission’s (PAC) Itty Bitty Art arrived in Golden in October, with 14 new ground level art works that will delight kids and adults alike.

The PAC selected 14 new, tiny art works to be installed in unexpected places in Golden’s oldest park, Parfet Park and on the Washington Avenue bridge over Clear Creek. The art works might be in a hole in a tree, a crack in a sidewalk, near electrical boxes, or on top of a bike rack. Colorado artists created art pieces with names like, Fairies Gather Here, London Calling, Firefly Lantern and When Pigs Fly and installed them around Parfet Park to compliment the first round of Itty Bitty Art introduced in 2022 and found along the city’s main street, Washington Avenue, and the Clear Creek Trail.

“Itty Bitty Art may be small in scale, but is massive in popularity,” said Kristie Brice with Golden’s Public Art Commission. “The Itty Bitty Art is intended to be a fun and serendipitous experience for locals and visitors alike. It’s been such a joy to observe so many people of all ages, slow down, look around and happily discover tiny treasures throughout the town.”

Art and adventure lovers can search for the artworks on their own or be guided to them with a map, either picked up at the Golden Visitor Center at 10th and Washington or downloaded HERE.

In addition to looking for the Itty Bitty art works in Parfet Park, kids can discover a statue of a dragon, gigantic riverside trout fish sculptures and play on a long slide that descends from the park down to the river bank.  And of course, the park is within an easy walk of the shops of downtown Golden which include several ice cream shops, a candy store, and a toy store, not to mention two dozen family and dog friendly restaurants, outdoor cafes, beer gardens and the Clear Creek Trail, which has been called “the best trail in Metro Denver.” 

Golden, long known for its beauty and recreational opportunities, is also home to a thriving – and rapidly expanding - art scene.  An entire downtown block of Golden is being transformed to house the Miners Alley Performing Arts Center (which will open in December 2023 with The Great American Trailer Park Christmas) and the Foothills Arts Center, which is expanding into the adjacent Astor House with a new museum in 2023. 

“Golden has always been the gateway to the mountains, with more than 200 free parking spots along the Peaks to Plains Trail,” said Robin Fleischmann with Visit Golden.  She added that increasingly, Golden is also known for its art festivals, theatre, live music, galleries and dining options.  “The new Itty Bitty Art offers a new fun activity for families or even could be a creative date night, complete with dinner, a beer garden, live music show, theatre or just an ice cream cone, all accompanied by a Golden sunset.”

For more information on visiting Golden, check out www.visitgolden.com.