Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs hosted my admission to Revel.
I am wildly biased about downtown Colorado Springs. I live here. I walk everywhere, I know all the weird little corners, and I want downtown to be amazing because this is my backyard.
AdAmAn Alley is one of my favorite projects down here.
It is tucked between the buildings at 15–17 S. Tejon Street, and it is incredibly easy to miss if you do not already know where to look. I take people through it all the time because it feels like showing them a secret. They put so much work into turning this little alley into something colorful and interesting, and it makes me happy every time I walk through it.
Then, for Revel, they turned the whole thing into a ridiculously fancy dinner party.
They brought in a long dinner table, flowers, wine glasses, lights, a red carpet and a multi-course meal. There was art glowing above us and music playing between the brick buildings. The whole thing was kind of crazy, especially if you know what the alley normally looks like.
Watching the alley change after dark
Revel: The Urban Arts Party happened on September 12, 2026. We entered through the breezeway on Pikes Peak Avenue next to Frutilandia, which is the same little entrance I normally use when I bring people into the alley.
The party started while it was still light outside. As the sun went down over the mountains, the lights in the alley started taking over. The buildings turned blue and purple, and all the translucent pieces hanging above us began catching the light.
That transition was one of the coolest parts of the night. I already love this alley, but watching it change as the sun set made it feel like a completely different place.
It was gorgeous.
The dinner was crazy
The multi-course dinner brought together chefs from Red Gravy, Colorado Craft Tejon Street Social and Oro.
Everything looked so pretty. There were hot-pink flowers on the table, little purple lights, wine glasses everywhere and these carefully plated courses coming out one after another.
I also loved listening to everyone around me talk about the food. People were paying attention to what they were eating. They wanted to know which restaurant had made each course, and they were talking about what they loved.
It made the dinner feel like something everyone was experiencing together instead of a room full of people quietly eating fancy food.
Why the art matters so much to me
Art on the Streets is one of my favorite things Colorado Springs does.
There is art hidden all over downtown. Some of it is huge and impossible to miss, but some of it is tucked into places you could walk past every day without ever noticing.
I once got to introduce the Kissing Camels mural on the wall to everybody. I love getting to show people the art around here.
Finding public art downtown can feel like being let in on a secret.
That is also what I love about AdAmAn Alley. It takes a space that could have stayed completely ordinary and makes it worth stopping for. I go through there all the time, and I still look around.
Revel took that feeling and made a whole night out of it.
This is what I want for downtown
The money raised by Revel supports the Downtown Creative District and programs including Art on the Streets, cultural events and creative placemaking projects like AdAmAn Alley.
I love that because downtown is personal to me. I want people to see how much is happening here. I want them to find the art hidden in the walls, wander into the alleys and pay attention to the places they normally walk right past.
For one night, one of my favorite secret places became this beautiful dinner party with incredible food, glowing art and the sun setting over the mountains.
I had so much fun.
Revel has not announced another date yet, but you can watch the Downtown Partnership event calendar for future events.
You should also see the Green Magick Vault inside COATI if you like finding unexpected places downtown.
