
Tickets on sale now!
This vibrant soirée and fundraiser blends nature, community, and creativity for an unforgettable evening of connection and celebration. Stroll the grounds with a handcrafted cocktail in hand and watch local artists create masterpieces before your eyes.
Garden a'Fare is more than a celebration—it's an investment in the future of The Gardens on Spring Creek.
Stroll through spectacular gardens, enjoy an exceptional catered dinner, sip handcrafted cocktails, experience live music, and watch talented artists create beautiful works inspired by nature—all while supporting a cause that flourishes long after the evening ends.
This year, your ticket support makes an even greater impact.
Proceeds from Garden a'Fare will directly support the Horticulture Department—the dedicated team whose expertise, passion, and care transform The Gardens into the vibrant, ever-changing destination our community treasures. Your generosity helps provide the resources needed to cultivate healthy gardens, preserve beautiful landscapes, and create inspiring experiences for every visitor.
Come celebrate the garden you love—and help it continue to grow.
Garden a’Fare is hosted by the Friends of The Gardens on Spring Creek and benefits The Gardens on Spring Creek.
2026 Event Sponsors




Meet the 2026 Live Music Artist
FoCo Motown Revue is Northern Colorado's premier celebration of the timeless sound of Motown. Based in Fort Collins, the band brings together an all-star lineup of accomplished local musicians to recreate the unforgettable music that defined a generation. More than a tribute act, FoCo Motown Revue delivers an energetic live experience that honors the artistry, soul, and cultural impact of the Motown legacy.
With powerhouse vocals, a tight rhythm section, blazing horns, and infectious grooves, the band performs beloved classics from legendary artists including The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Martha & the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, and more. Every performance invites audiences to sing along, dance, and relive the soundtrack of one of music's greatest eras.
FoCo Motown Revue brings together local musicians Peaches Embry, Phil Donaldson, Jada Washington, Steve Amedee, John Magnie, Ian Anderson, Gary Brunner, Carlton Pride, Craig Satterfield, and Mike Stabnow.
Meet the 2026
PLEIN AIR Artists
Kaley is an acrylic painter creating cheerfully bright art and paper goods in Fort Collins, CO. She has developed a distinct style characterized by bold brushstrokes, vibrant mixed colors, and a touch of whimsy. A self-taught artist with a lifelong passion for creativity, Kaley embraces both learning and growth in her artistic journey. She believes in the power of art to make people smile and finds beauty in intentional imperfections. She balances her love for outdoor adventures with time in the studio, where the moments she spends in nature become the inspiration behind her work. With her paintbrush and messy palette, she playfully brings landscapes, florals, and wildlife to life, offering a vivid snapshot of her experiences in the outdoors.

Chris Bates
Chris Bates is a nationally-recognized artist, muralist, and live painter based in Fort Collins, Colorado, whose vibrant work transforms public spaces and events into unforgettable visual experiences. With more than 17 years of professional experience, Bates has created large-scale murals across the country that celebrate culture, history, and community through the universal language of art. You can find his art gracing many walls and businesses in Old Town Fort Collins. His distinctive style combines bold composition, recognizable symbolism, and relatable storytelling. In addition to his mural painting, Chris enjoys painting at live events. He has painted at concerts, festivals, corporate events, galas, and fundraisers. As a community minded artist, Chris is excited to paint in the beauty of the Gardens on Spring Creek.
Bob Coonts is a painter known for his colorful artwork pieces that cover a variety of subjects, including animals, landscapes, plants, and people. He enjoys the use of color as perfected by the Fauvists. Coonts uses a unique artistic style that expresses warmth and detail. His artistic style isn't fully refined as he continues to work on it to ensure that what he finally delivers is unique, whether he applies whimsy or colorful compositions to create them. Coonts’ artistic versatility is evident in his masterworks, delivering some in the true abstract or non-objective abstract. Often, his creative pieces reach out to his audience's emotions. Coonts has been part of numerous exhibitions over the years and has seen his works displayed in galleries and collections across the U.S. among other geographic locations.
Growing up in the high country of Colorado, Lori has a close connection to nature which inspires her work. As a scientific illustrator, her work leans strongly toward more technically representational imagery, trying to capture the beauty and relationships in nature. She works in many different mediums, but has a special affection for scratchboard and gouache.
Lori has actively participated in the scientific, academic and fine art worlds. Two of the most unique experiences close to her heart have been working as an exhibit at the Smithsonian, creating illustrations for researchers before the public, and serving as an artist-in-residence at RMNP during their centennial year.
After this summer, Lori will end her time at RISD where she teaches both scientific illustration and design, and move toward focusing on creating more of her own art.
Ellie Light is a Loveland-based mixed media artist who explores the parallel cycles of growth, decay, and renewal found in both human identity and the natural world. With an Associates of Arts focusing in Fine Art and a PhD in Visual Communication Studies, Light brings both artistic and scholarly understanding to her creative practice.
Expressed through paintings and three-dimensional works, her pieces employ bold textures and rich colors to convey a passion for life and a celebration of the painting process itself. Her work honors the wild, untamed aspects of human experience and nature, always hoping to convey the complexities of identity—including the particular nuances of feminine experience.
Light has been featured in numerous venues throughout Northern Colorado. Her work challenges viewers to find beauty in life's transitions and strength in its contradictions.
Fort Collins based painter, Teddi Parker, has been painting almost daily since 2014. After being drawn to the bold and loose brushstrokes of other artists and jumping on the Daily Painting movement, Teddi has been learning to let go of perfectionist tendencies and just paint boldly. Inspiration strikes from everywhere, but Teddi finds displaying the beauty in the everyday and ordinary to be surprisingly exciting. Standing on the knowledge of others mixed with her love for Jesus, Teddi can approach a blank canvas with confidence and not worry about what the opinions of others might be while creating.



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