Out Boulder County Celebrates Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains Grand Opening

Out Boulder County hosted a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration for the Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains on Friday evening. The center will serve as the base of operations for Out Boulder County’s programs and services while also providing a communal space for the LGBTQ communities of Boulder County and beyond.

More than 100 people packed the building, located at 3349 Mitchell Lane, to celebrate the opening with food, music, and communal fun.

Lin Erhardt first got involved with the organization, now known as Out Boulder County, more than three decades ago. She tells Daily Camera what it’s been like to see her work, and the work of many others at the organization, culminate in this way so many years later.

“It’s beyond words,” she says. “It’s the biggest dream I could ever have imagined in the 80s.”

Out Boulder County’s Executive Director Mardi Moore says that the organization began looking at spaces to rent earlier in 2022 and never expected to be able to afford the space on Mitchell Lane when they first found it.

With connections to the building’s previous owners, and an anonymous $500,000 donation, the organization was able to put a $1 million payment down to purchase the building, now embarking on a $6 million capital campaign. Some of the money will cover the cost of the building, and the remainder will pay for programming the organization will provide in the new space.

Moore recalls the history of Out Boulder County and says that the relationships fostered through its work is what contributed to its success.

“Out Boulder County wouldn’t be successful if it hadn’t been for the relationships that were formed in the 70s, 80s, and onward,” she says. “It wouldn’t be the organization it is without our volunteers, without our dedicated staff, and without our board members.”

Governor Jared Polis, initially a Boulder resident and the first openly gay governor in U.S. history, was also at the event, saying he left the Friday night Rockies game to make it.

“I wouldn’t want to miss this,” Polis says. “Really so much work and community love and support went into this. And that means a lot, especially when gay and lesbian and transgender and bisexual people are being targeted in many parts of our own country.”

Photo courtesy of teofilo on Flickr