4 Best Performing Arts in Telluride, Southwest Colorado

Held each year over Labor Day, the Telluride Film Festival is up there with Sundance as one of the world's leading showcases for foreign and domestic films.

Miners built the opera house in 1913 as a venue primarily for vaudeville acts. Today the landmark opera house presents a variety of shows year-round, including live theater, concerts, and comedy acts. Over the years it has hosted performances by such popular artists as Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, and Jewel. The nonprofit Sheridan Arts Foundation operates the opera house.

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June has gone far beyond its bluegrass roots and is now one of the country's premier acoustic folk–rock gatherings.

This semiprofessional group performs a variety of shows year-round in various venues. Productions include popular musicals, burlesque dancers, Shakespeare-in-the-park performances, and original, experimental shows.