After attempted move to Southern Colorado, Arise Music Festival permanently canceled
Arise Music Festival has officially met its demise.
After bringing live music, yoga, art and theater to Loveland's Sunrise Ranch every summer from 2012 to 2019, the embattled Larimer County-born festival attempted to move its operations to Southern Colorado this year.
But "due to circumstances beyond the festival's control" — namely Pueblo County officials denying the festival's special event permit application — Arise organizer Luke Comer said he has decided to permanently cancel the event.
In Larimer County, Arise Music Festival grew from 1,000 attendees in 2012 to 10,000 in 2019, Comer said. As the festival grew, so did opposition from neighbors and public safety concerns from the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. Citing these issues, Larimer County commissioners denied the festival's special events permit in 2020.
Looking to continue Arise in a new location, Comer purchased a $3 million swath of land in Boone, Colorado, where the festival was set to be held for the first time this summer on an organic farm and ranch known as The Cradle.
It was slated for May 27-30.
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The traffic impact study Comer sent to the Colorado Department of Transportation and safety information he sent to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office were not signed off by either agency on Arise's permit application, causing the county's planning department to cancel its application, Comer said in a news release.
The application cancellation spelled the end of Arise and also meant a loss of about $1 million in revenue and 1,000 temporary jobs for the Pueblo area, Comer estimated.
Comer said he will keep his property in Boone — growing grass for grazing cattle and wildlife — but "I think I'm done working with Pueblo County," he told the Coloradoan and Pueblo Chieftain in an email.
Instead, he's turning his eyes to the third of his property that's located in Crowley County, including a 150-acre slice of irrigated grass field and trees with access to the Arkansas River.
"Needless to say, I should have put Arise there in the first place," Comer wrote.
While Arise Music Festival is over, Comer said events on his property won't be.
"I am not sure what I would produce in the future, but I am already working on ideas," he said.
Erin Udell reports on news, culture, history and more for the Coloradoan. Contact her at ErinUdell@coloradoan.com. The only way she can keep doing what she does is with your support. If you subscribe, thank you. If not, sign up for a digital subscription to the Coloradoan today.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Arise Music Festival permanently canceled after attempted move
