When you explore a new place — or even new places in your hometown — it should be filled with wonder and fun. There definitely should be a lot of laughter, especially when you travel with kids in Colorado Springs — or staycation. Enter stage left Jim Jackson and Birgitta De Pree, owners and founders of the Millibo Art Theatre and one of the leading couples in Colorado Springs theater.
“Why grow up?” could easily be their mantra. While original productions at the Millibo cover a full spectrum of genres and emotions, the theater is well known for its whimsical children’s shows, circus acts, comedies and cabaret that delight kids of all ages. Birgitta and Jim are well known for their signature characters, Babette Matdiva and Art Guffaw the clown. So when it came time to share a getaway itinerary of their favorite spots in Colorado Springs, of course the couple presented their entire Creative Stay in character — full character.
The couple not only spoke and interviewed as a clown and heavily accented diva, they led us all around town, eating and drinking and shopping and greeting people along the way. As you can imagine, hijinks ensued. We learned that Babette and Art Guffaw love to bounce back and forth, finishing each other’s sentences. And we can guarantee that following Jim and Birgitta’s trip itinerary will lead you to fun and good times in Colorado Springs, whether it’s for travel with kids, looking for hometown family fun or enjoying new entertainment for the grown-ups.
Take it away, Babette and Mr. Guffaw.
Colorado Springs can be an exciting place!
And especially exciting for families, with children of all ages.
I don’t think we should ever stop being children.
No. You can find many things to do here in Colorado Springs—
To eat and to hang out and to play. Wow! And we’re going to tell you all about it. Colorado Springs is an exciting place to live if you know where to look.
And a very exciting place to visit. Even if you have a 3-year-old or a 7-year-old or a 17-year-old or a 70-year-old. Even if you have all those kinds of children, you can visit Colorado Springs and find great things to do.
Where to Stay: Lodging
The Villa Motel, Manitou Springs
The Villa Motel is one of the closest hotels to downtown Manitou Springs, and it has been owned by the Vance family for nearly 40 years. With newly renovated rooms at 481 Manitou Avenue, it places you within walking distance of Manitou’s shops, restaurants, trails and other outdoor activities. Or you can always ride the free Manitou shuttle.
The Villa Motel has supported the theater for 20 years, and many of our actors who come from out of town stay there. They love it because they can walk down in the morning to downtown Manitou Springs. Or they can go hiking right from the hotel up onto the Intemann Trail. It’s beautiful. And they have a pool during the summer. It’s a very nice motel.
DAY 1
What to Do
Play Games at the Manitou Penny Arcade
The Manitou Arcade is fun, exciting, unique and wonderful.
One of a kind, colorful, surprising, loud!
And you can find every kind of game from the brand-new computer — bing, bing, bing, ba-bing — to the very old antique. You can put in a penny and play foosball, or they have old pinball machines. Down the Clown is my favorite.
It’s the one where you shoot the balls at the clowns, right?
Yeah. The fuzzy clowns.
It’s my favorite too.
There’s nothing like it. It’s in a beautiful setting in downtown Manitou next to the creek. Some of the games are in the open-air breezeways. And there are restaurants all around the arcade.
You can play the old Horse Racing or do Skee-Ball, and you win tickets. Then you save them.
And if you have 500,000 tickets, you might get a prize!
Hike on the Paul Intemann Memorial Nature Trail
Paul Intemann loved Manitou Springs, and he wanted to make a walking trail where you could go above Manitou and look down on the beautiful town. So the Intemann Trail is now a very nice hike.
It can be long because it’s connected to other trails, like Red Mountain and Iron Mountain.
But we like to take a one-hour hike. You start on one side. You walk. You end up on the other side of the town.
And then if you’re thirsty, you just go get water from the eight mineral springs around Manitou Springs.
Explore the Fantastical Art at the Rockey Art Museum
CH Rockey was an artist who lived in Manitou. He was a teacher and a nationally known artist. And he really believed art could make life better for people. Many of his paintings are of the mountains and the beautiful views around Manitou Springs.
He looked just like Santa Claus. In the summer, you would go down the main street and he would be sitting on the corner by the Town Clock, talking to the tourists. He would welcome them into his studio. He was a really special person and the heart of Manitou for many, many years.
Now that he’s gone, they have made his studio into the Rockey Art Museum. And you can go in to look at the art. It’s lovely.
Where to Eat and Drink
The Keg Lounge
Go to The Keg on Manitou Avenue. Don’t be scared from the outside. Maybe you think, Oh, it’s a biker bar. But go inside because it’s fantastic!
We can say this because for many years we lived just a block away from The Keg. And we would go there because it’s where the locals go. It’s a kept secret because the food is so good!
I always get the blue cheese salad with chicken and berries. It’s my favorite. And the bloody mary—
It’s very spicy.
They have very nice beers, and also the steaks—
And the hamburger. I like everything!
Savelli’s Pizza
Savelli’s Pizza is an institution in Manitou Springs. They are famous for their pizza. It’s just a nice little mom and pop pizza place, and it’s close to the Villa Motel.
It’s very fresh. It’s family owned. You walk in and feel like, Oh, they’re happy to see me. It’s special that I am here.
DAY 2
What to Do
Play at the Uncle Wilber Fountain
If you want a happy experience in the summer, go to the Uncle Wilber Fountain. It looks like a sculpture, right? But then every hour it comes alive with water spraying. It opens up. And there’s Mr. Uncle Wilber! He is a musician playing the tuba. He plays, and a dog jumps around his head in the sculpture. The children are jumping in the water, and everybody is happy!
It is right in downtown Colorado Springs in Acacia Park. In the summertime you hear the children laughing and playing and screaming in the water, and then you can all go to Poor Richard’s down the block.
Shop at Poor Richard’s
I love Little Richard’s Toy Store at Poor Richard’s. Who doesn’t love a toy store? And this one — so fantastic!
We used to walk in and then the children would disappear. Whoosh, they were gone. And you would find them in the back—
They have lots of puppets there—
And they were playing with the puppets. They have a whole area for little dolls and houses and things. And they have Legos — oh gosh, Lego sets! They have science experiments.
They have lots of games too. If you are tired of looking at toys, you can walk through the doorway, and there is the beautiful bookstore with all sorts of books.
Or the coffee shop.
Rico’s coffee shop has delicious coffees and desserts. They have live music most weekend nights.
And artwork on the walls from local artists.
Or if you feel like pizza, you keep walking and then you are in the pizza restaurant. It’s four little stores in one.
It’s a great place if you are looking for gifts — for someone else or yourself. I often go in and get myself a gift.
See a Play, Comedy or Variety show at the Millibo Art Theatre
We have always loved to perform. I love to support performers, and we thought, Colorado Springs needs a home for new work — like a small theater where you can come and feel like you are family. So we said, “We have to do this.”
And we did it 20 years ago. We created the Millibo Art Theatre.
We love making shows for audiences of all ages. We make shows for children. We make shows for adults. We make shows for people who maybe don’t know if they are children or if they’re adults!
And it’s not just shows. You come to the theater, it’s an event. You feel welcome. There are beautiful things in the lobby. You talk afterward. It’s more than just theater. It’s an experience.
All year round you can see great shows at the Millibo Art Theatre. If you come in the fall, we start our children’s series. Every weekend we have matinee shows for families. Or if you come in the summer, we have our evening cabaret. It’s a little bit naughty.
We have a cabaret circus and traditional plays.
There are not just clowns. Sometimes it can be serious.
Very serious.
And sometimes funny.
Very funny.
But my favorite thing is when you come to the theater, you are more alive. You are awake in a different, deeper way.
Where to Eat and Drink
Picnic from Bread and Butter Market
We love Bread and Butter Neighborhood Market because the people who opened it care about food, and they saw a need in downtown Colorado Springs for a grocery store.
It was a food desert downtown.
Now there is this beautiful store! They have so many wonderful things like gourmet items, but also things you need every day. And this is just a very fun place to shop — like a throwback to an old-time grocery store.
They have local products and a wine and liquor store attached to the market.
You can stop there and get everything you need for a picnic.
I like to picnic at Red Rock Canyon Open Space. You have to walk a little bit, but you feel like you’re in the wilderness. You are inspired by the views.
Who doesn’t need to be inspired and eating? Nothing better.
And Garden of the Gods is a nice place for a picnic. You can drive and pull off at picnic areas. But sometimes it’s a little crowded, so I like to go find places that fewer people know about.
In Colorado Springs there are beautiful parks like Shooks Run Park right by the creek. It’s a beautiful place for a picnic. And if you’re a bike rider, you can rent a PikeRide bike downtown, ride down the bike path and have a picnic in Shooks Run.
Ivywild School
Ivywild School is right next to our little theater. It’s over 100 years old. It closed, so they made it into a beautiful brewery. The Principal’s Office is now a nice coffee bar. And there are restaurants and shops and stores too, including Salad or Bust, Spark Beer + BBQ, Lazo Empanadas and others.
Bristol Brewing Company is there. They make their own beers, and every one is unique. Amanda and Mike Bristol, the owners, care so much about the beer and the local community. They are well known throughout Colorado for their craft beer and for their support of the community.
Bristol and Ivywild are always making things happen. They have movie nights. They have craft beer festivals. They do Busses at the Brewery when hundreds of VW busses come.
It is a unique and special place.
Dozo Sushi
Dozo Sushi is close to the Millibo Theater too. I love all their sushi rolls.
It’s so good there! All you do is take the list and check, check, check, check, check. You don’t have to know what you’re ordering. It will be good.
DAY 3
What to Do
Go Fishing at Catamount Reservoir
We like to go fishing at North Catamount Reservoir in the Pikes Peak North Slope Recreation Area. We were just there with my daughter and her boyfriend from Boston. He loves to fish but had never been to Colorado. They had a great day and caught their limit. He was so excited to be fishing in a Colorado lake.
And the views of Pikes Peak are so beautiful there. It’s amazing, like a postcard!
Where to Eat and Drink
The Exchange
I love The Exchange because there are so many great options. You can sit at a high-top table, a low top-table, or there’s a little loungey area. They have a wide selection of really good food and great coffees
The owner came from Miami, so they do a great coffee con leche. And their Cuban sandwich is really wonderful. So are their empanadas and any of their Miami-Cuban-inspired food.
Stellina Pizza
Stellina Pizza Cafe has gourmet Roman-inspired pizza. You wouldn’t expect it because it’s in the middle of a downtown neighborhood, but it’s a great location near Shooks Run Park. A lot of the locals walk there for pizza. There’s nothing commercial about it.
Map Your Itinerary
Want to build your custom Colorado Springs itinerary? Use the Visit Colorado Springs Trip Planner tool to enter your destinations and create your maps and schedules in one spot.
For up-to-date event information when you’re in town, be sure to visit PeakRadar.com, the cultural calendar for the Pikes Peak region.
