Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
On Dec. 7, over 1,000 locals and visitors poured into The Collective in Snowmass Base Village to fully experience the community space for the first time.
Previously known as Building 6, The Collective served as a shell to test out various affordable programming and activities last season, in hopes that the “best of the best” would move into the completed build-out.
One year, a few short speeches and a snip of a large, red ribbon stretched across the finished Base Village building later, the public was invited to experience a free sample of what the community space will offer.
“The opening weekend went so great, we heard a lot of feedback that people were excited to come and experience something new in Snowmass,” said Sara Halferty, curator for The Collective. “We’re all really happy with how it went.”
From 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 7, locals and visitors enjoyed a free dinner at mix6 — The Collective’s fast-casual nutritarian eatery by longtime local chef Martin Oswald — drinks at the moxiBar, and experienced the immersive art and gaming options in the downstairs game lounge.
Families faced off at the eight-person fusbol table, kids and adults swam through the Ziegler Reservoir-inspired ball pool, and many tried to imprint their bodies onto a life-sized, 3D pin art frame.
“I think this place is sick, it’s so cool,” said Michael Quintanilla, 14, as he set up the lounge’s pool table for a game with his friends.
“I love all of the graffiti, the art and the pool balls,” Sheldon Sims, 14, added. “I’ve seen the building from the outside and heard some things about it from my aunt who is the bar manager, but I never knew it was going to be like this. It’s amazing.”
While some kids and adults played in the downstairs lounge Dec. 7, a seemingly never-ending line for the mix6 dinner wound around the top floor for several hours as people waited to pick four or six foods from 12 options, including broccoli, mac and cheese, sauteed greens, tofu, chicken, steak and squash.
Martin Oswald and his staff served over 1,000 people Dec. 7 and 60 people Dec. 8 at the first-ever mix6 brunch. Oswald said he felt it was the most successful restaurant opening he’s ever had.
“There was so much collective effort that went into this unlike other towns I’ve been in,” Oswald said of The Collective and all its offerings Dec. 7, highlighting the efforts of town government, tourism, Snowmass Base Village developers and the building’s contractors.
“A lot of people have grand visions and great ideas but very few people manage to follow through. Here, the community really came together and persistence paid off.”
As previously reported, the town of Snowmass Village owns The Collective building and leases it to East West Partners to manage for the community.
And for East West Partners, who oversaw the completion of The Collective and will coordinate its programming moving forward, the finished building wouldn’t have been made possible without the town’s collaboration.
“I’m really excited to get this open, a lot of work by a lot of people was put in to get it here,” said Charlie Singer, East West Partners project manager of The Collective opening. “This building is for the community and was designed for everyone. … Our hope is that anyone in the Roaring Fork Valley will have a reason to want to come here.”
While the opening weekend of the completed The Collective was deemed a success, the building and its offerings aren’t quite finished evolving, according to Halferty.
She said she hopes to keep the space truly rooted in the community by keeping dialogue for improvement and ideas open with locals and visitors, and encouraged people to reach out with their feedback.
“We would love to hear from the community about what they want to see at The Collective,” Halferty said.
For now, Halferty and Dawn Blasberg, plaza and events manager for Base Village and The Collective, are preparing for the Snowmass Casino Night on Friday, a benefit for the Little Red School House, for the Snowmassive Celebration from Friday through Saturday in Base Village, which recognizes the opening of both the community building and the One Snowmass buildings, coinciding with Aspen Skiing Company’s Passapalooza weekend.
A calendar of more regular programming and events scheduled at The Collective can be found at thecollectivesnowmass.com, and the building is now open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.