When I was growing up our family would go to Virginia Beach every year for summer vacations. One highlight was going to the boardwalk, where my dad would reluctantly buy us all t-shirts. Selling souvenirs must have been quite a business since there were always a lot of shops to choose from. My father didn’t really mind what we picked out, I just remember proudly showing off my new attire when we returned home.

Marketers might label this type of purchase as “impulsive buying behavior” and when you think about it, there’s really no reason to purchase this sort of thing if you aren’t at the destination. This got me thinking about Central City and my guess is that the casinos experience this phenomenon too. 

I recently saw a shirt with the heading “I got lucky in Central City”. It’s a clever motto, but you probably have to be in Central City to buy a shirt like this. I guess there might be the possibility that an affiliation with gambling or the play-on-words could be enough to drive this purchase, but I speculate that most of these shirts have been acquired free of charge.

So what does this have to do with Opera? Well, we recently updated the Central City Opera online gift shop with souvenirs using images from this season’s performances. So naturally, I wondered if the same impulsive buying behaviors apply? Would you come to the web site and purchase a “Susannah” t-shirt to show off your affiliation with the opera? My guess is no, especially if you had not seen the opera yet.

Select the image above or HERE to go to the online gift shop now.

What if you were given the opportunity to purchase a souvenir during the process of buying your ticket? My guess is the likelihood would increase dramatically; in fact, I can imagine a time when you could go online, purchase a performance, select your seats, add a shirt, print your ticket, arrive at opera and have the usher deliver your souvenir while you wait for the opera to start?

Combining the gift store with ticket buying is about convenience and removing obstacles in the transactional path. We live in an on-demand world and the internet can be used in so many powerful ways to support the one-to-one paradigm. I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on this matter. In the meantime, feel free to look over the new apparel on the Central City Opera web site and online store!

I thought it would be fun to take the family up to Central City on Easter weekend this year; after all, it was a glorious day in Colorado and as we grow older it seems like we don’t get as many opportunities to take family road trips.

We decided to make a day out of it, so we packed the cooler before heading off to Easter services. On the way to Central City there are a lot of things to take in. It’s a short trip and the only drive I know of that has space age houses and American Buffalo in the same few miles.

Easter 2008 Roadtrip

The new Central City highway is great. It’s much more convenient than US 6 or SH 119 and the views are spectacular, but we were surprised there were no picnic areas! I wondered if anyone could recommend a good picnic area on the way? I have fond memories of roadside picnics and it seems like there were a lot of families taking the short drive over the weekend.

It was nice to see the opera house again. As we drove up Eureka Street, it felt as if she was awakening from her winter hibernation. The snow and icicles were melting from the entrances and spring was in the air. I guess you could consider the visit our 2008 debut! Alejandro skateboarded the theatre entrance while Andre sang near the second story balcony exit.

I hope the majestic theatre did not take offense to our humble visit. I’m sure she has seen far more spectacular events in her lifetime. We had a great time; our boys really enjoyed learning how to use a video camera to make a short documentary. One of them even said it was the best Easter’s ever!

My name is Glenn Alsup and I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the readers of the Central City Opera Blog. I have been working with the Opera in one way or another for most of this millennium and hope to use this platform to periodically post thoughtful anecdotes on my experiences participating with the Opera and its many patrons, as well as insightful discussion points on the use of electronic media for the opera community in general.

A little about me: In Colorado for nearly 20 years now, our family of five calls Greenwood Village home. I grew up back East, my mother is an artist, my father a Ph.D. research scientist. As a result, I have developed and pursued with great interest, the intersection between art and science. Last year I was honored to become part of the Central City Opera Board. I enjoy bringing my insight and experience to the challenges of expanding the Opera experience through the growing use electronic media technologies.

Clearly, the Internet has streamlined the way many organizations run their business operations over the last 15 years and performing arts organizations are certainly no exception. Believe it or not, history has shown that opera companies have been instrumental in the evolution of electronic media technologies over the last century. Several examples include stereophonic radio, motion picture cameras and performance simulcasts.

I look forward to discussing the Central City Opera experience with you. I’ll plan to focus on how we can best use the Internet, electronic media and the World Wide Web to maximize our enjoyment of the Opera and to bring value to the organization and our beloved performers. So please stay tuned and join in on the conversation.