OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Community Marketing Board Special Meeting – March 24, 2026: Sundance, Strategic Plan & Visitation Data

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, March 24, 2026
BodyGolden, Colorado
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, March 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:30:03

Transcript — Verbatim
0:14

Okay.

0:22

All right.

0:23

Welcome everyone.

0:24

Community marketing board.

0:26

I need the agenda.

0:28

Excuse me, sorry.

0:30

Derek, be careful what you're showing us.

0:32

We are just going to go live too to make sure it's all recorded.

0:37

Doing a double recording.

0:39

We have new technology and double recording.

0:42

We're gonna just make sure that.

0:44

Oh there's no chance.

0:55

I don't know.

0:56

Dare I see it?

1:01

We're gonna record in English today.

1:04

Okay.

1:04

Good to know.

1:11

Thanks, everyone.

1:12

Sorry.

1:14

All right.

1:15

And open it up for public comment.

1:20

Come on.

1:21

Oh, I have to come up near front and center.

1:24

And then the speaker can hear you.

1:26

Oh, that's true.

1:31

Hi.

1:33

This will be brief.

1:35

My name is Karen Oxman.

1:37

I've been around for a while in Golden about 52 years now, and have maintained a lot of different roles during that time.

1:46

And I'm here today on behalf of the friends of the Golden History Museum and Park.

1:53

And I just wanted to let you know that you have a gem in Nathan Richie, who is the manager of the museum as well as he's got a new title, something like cultural and whatever, anyway.

2:11

It gave him a lot more to do.

2:13

But this is the year we're celebrating the US 250 year anniversary and 150 for Colorado.

2:22

So there are lots of events going on, and I'd like to encourage I'm here kind of to encourage you to take part in some of them.

2:31

The first thing coming up is something to watch out for.

2:49

May 16th is a dedication of a super gigantic huge ancient flag of the United States that they are having to fold into whatever triangle it's going to be.

3:07

That's uh May 16th.

3:10

I'm trying to give them in order of the dates.

3:14

Um the flag dedication, they're having to make a special box for the flag because it is so huge.

3:23

Um is Colorado Day, and so watch for things that will be happening then.

3:33

And then September 12th will be the official 250-150 uh event, which will be held at Ulysses Park, and it's going to have a 20-minute drone show.

3:48

So I'm not sure where all you'll have to be to see the drone show, but it should be quite something.

3:57

Um I would encourage all of you to come down to the History Museum and take a peek if you haven't been there.

4:05

Now's a great time to come down and see the museum and also become a member.

4:13

Um there are lots of uh exciting events that happen on a weekly basis down there.

4:19

Thank you very much.

4:26

Anyone else?

4:31

All right, it's our Sundance presentation.

4:35

Come on.

4:37

Um, my name is Jeff Levine.

4:45

I'm the head of audience development and experience for the Sundance Institute.

4:50

Um thank you so much for the invitation to speak today.

4:54

So um, and especially to Nola for Richard does really appreciate it.

5:02

I do a lot of these presentations.

5:04

I find it's helpful to go through a little bit of history and give you a sense of the Sundance Institute and the festival.

5:12

So I'll try to keep that to 15 minutes and then open it up to any questions that I don't address.

5:22

So the Sundance Film Festival is a program of the Sundance Institute, which was formed in the mountains of Utah by Robert Redford in the 1980s.

5:36

The Institute and the festival are non tropic.

5:41

And they are the key purpose is really to support artists.

5:57

But at the heart of our organization is a 40 plus year mission to find particularly emerging artists, often pair them with established artists, and really give them the support they need earlier in their in their career into the kind of kind of heart of their career.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tourism Management█████████████████████████████████33%
Arts And Culture███████████████████████23%
Economic Development█████████9%
Public Engagement████████8%
Strategic Planning████████8%
Data Management█████5%
Short Term Rental Regulation████4%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Public Safety███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Community Marketing Board Special Meeting – March 24, 2026

The Community Marketing Board held a special meeting on March 24, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. The meeting featured a presentation from the Sundance Institute about its upcoming move to Boulder, updates on the strategic marketing plan and 2026 budget, a review of 2025 visitation data, and discussions on partnership opportunities. No formal votes were taken.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Karen Oxman (Friends of the Golden History Museum & Park) encouraged the board to participate in upcoming celebrations for the US 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th anniversary. She highlighted a giant flag dedication on May 16, 2026, Colorado Day activities, and a drone show on September 12, 2026, at Ulysses Park.

Discussion Items

  • Sundance Institute Presentation – Jeff Levine, Head of Audience Development & Experience, presented the institute’s history and mission. He confirmed the Sundance Film Festival will be held in Boulder from January 21–31, 2027, under a 10-year agreement. Key stats from the 2025 festival: 85,000 unique visitors (two-thirds in-state), 4,000 feature film submissions, 15 theaters, and over 1,000 volunteers. He noted that 47.23% of traditional visitors (60+ miles) stay overnight, and the average accommodation spend is $409.55. The institute is exploring ways to engage nearby communities, including Golden, through transportation, lodging partnerships, and co-marketing. Board members discussed short-term rental regulations, shuttle logistics, and ticket pricing ($35 for single tickets; passes up to thousands of dollars). No immediate commitments were made.
  • Strategic Plan Update – The board reviewed progress on the strategic marketing plan. Three digital surveys (tourism stakeholder, resident sentiment, visitor) will launch within the next two weeks. A board retreat is scheduled for May 12, 2026 (9:00 AM–1:00 PM) to discuss balanced marketing between residents and tourism, stewardship, seasonality, and group sales. Members emphasized the need for a clear central message and better measurement of economic impact.
  • Budget Review – The 2026 marketing budget was presented, noting that media buying for the winter campaign ($40,000 typical) has not yet been billed. The special events line item ($39,425) will increase as Goldens in Golden costs are finalized. The Goldens in Golden event (held in February 2026) generated revenue through sponsorships and vendor fees, with net proceeds returning to the community marketing fund. Expenses included $3,500 for vendor internet, security, portable restrooms, stage/tent rental, and shuttles (4,600 riders). Board members raised safety concerns about the splash lot, suggesting added security, doubled shuttles, and an ambassador for the 2027 event (tentatively set for February 6, 2027). The board also discussed trademarking the “Goldens in Golden” name and establishing a licensing framework for its use.
  • 2025 Visitation Review – Derek presented data from DataFi, splitting visitors into two groups: close drive (7–60 miles, 14.98 million visits) and traditional (60+ miles, 3.94 million visits). Only 1.53% of close-drive visitors stayed overnight versus 47.23% of traditional visitors. Average daily spend (excluding lodging) was $87.79 for close drive and $162.02 for traditional. Top markets for close drive: Denver (29.6%), Littleton (15.57%), Arvada (8.83%). For traditional visitors: Texas (13.24%), Colorado (9.20%), California (6.93%). The board discussed how to target these distinct markets and encouraged more granular strategies.
  • Partnership Opportunities – The board briefly considered sponsoring Outside Days Festival (reduced price from $12,000 to $8,000) and Yoga on the Rocks at Red Rocks. Most members expressed no interest, seeing limited value or preferring to wait for the strategic plan. No motion was made.
  • Contractor Report – The SEO/AdWords contract is expiring. The creative agency RFP is in review, with a decision expected within 1–2 weeks.

Key Outcomes

  • Strategic plan surveys will be distributed digitally within two weeks to stakeholders, residents, and visitors.
  • Board retreat confirmed for May 12, 2026, 9:00 AM–1:00 PM, to refine the strategic marketing plan.
  • Goldens in Golden 2027 will be held on Saturday, February 6, 2027 (official announcement pending). Improvements will include additional security, shuttle capacity, and an ambassador at the splash lot.
  • Trademark/merchandise licensing for Goldens in Golden will be researched and a proposal brought back to the board by summer 2026.
  • No partnership commitments were made for Outside Days Festival or Yoga on the Rocks.
  • Creative agency RFP review continues; SEO/AdWords contract expiration to be addressed in upcoming meetings.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. All right. Welcome everyone. Community marketing board. I need the agenda. Excuse me, sorry. Derek, be careful what you're showing us. We are just going to go live too to make sure it's all recorded. Doing a double recording. We have new technology and double recording. We're gonna just make sure that. Oh there's no chance. I don't know. Dare I see it? We're gonna record in English today. Okay. Good to know. Thanks, everyone. Sorry. All right. And open it up for public comment. Come on. Oh, I have to come up near front and center. And then the speaker can hear you. Oh, that's true. Hi. This will be brief. My name is Karen Oxman. I've been around for a while in Golden about 52 years now, and have maintained a lot of different roles during that time. And I'm here today on behalf of the friends of the Golden History Museum and Park. And I just wanted to let you know that you have a gem in Nathan Richie, who is the manager of the museum as well as he's got a new title, something like cultural and whatever, anyway. It gave him a lot more to do. But this is the year we're celebrating the US 250 year anniversary and 150 for Colorado. So there are lots of events going on, and I'd like to encourage I'm here kind of to encourage you to take part in some of them. The first thing coming up is something to watch out for. May 16th is a dedication of a super gigantic huge ancient flag of the United States that they are having to fold into whatever triangle it's going to be. That's uh May 16th. I'm trying to give them in order of the dates. Um the flag dedication, they're having to make a special box for the flag because it is so huge. Um is Colorado Day, and so watch for things that will be happening then. And then September 12th will be the official 250-150 uh event, which will be held at Ulysses Park, and it's going to have a 20-minute drone show. So I'm not sure where all you'll have to be to see the drone show, but it should be quite something. Um I would encourage all of you to come down to the History Museum and take a peek if you haven't been there. Now's a great time to come down and see the museum and also become a member. Um there are lots of uh exciting events that happen on a weekly basis down there. Thank you very much. Anyone else? All right, it's our Sundance presentation. Come on. Um, my name is Jeff Levine.

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