Carnivale Commonwheel Gallery Show

Commonwheel Artists Co-op is hosting a show with invited guests to celebrate 30 years of Carnivale in our Gallery Space during February.

Artists from around the Pikes Peak Region and members of Commonwheel Artists Co-op have created artwork in many styles around the theme of the Carnivale event that has happened in Manitou Springs.

30 years ago, after returning from a trip to Italy, one of the members of the Commonwheel Artists Co-op, Arlene Wood, inspired artists in Manitou Springs to create an event similar to Carnvevale (Italian for Carnival) as they celebrated it there with people wearing beautiful costumes and fantastic masks. The name of the event was dubbed “Carnivale”, and has used that spelling ever since.

A group of artists dressed in colorful attire and a couple of large puppets paraded through the town on the sidewalks the Saturday before Fat Tuesday that year. For every year afterwards, no matter the weather, a parade has celebrated this fun event in Manitou Springs at that same timeframe. During recent years, the Manitou Springs Chamber has hosted a Gumbo Cook-off as part of that celebration.

The gallery will be filled with colorful and historic works of art to celebrate the 30th year of this fun event in Manitou Springs. Time to find the perfect mask or learn about the history of how Carnivale has been celebrated in Manitou Springs for 30 years.