A Colorado-based non-profit organisation called Friends of Red Rocks has removed more than 22kg of chewing gum from beneath the benches at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The open-air venue prohibits chewing gum among other items, including hula hoops, full face masks, bullhorns, and alcohol. Volunteers scraped the gum from beneath the amphitheatre’s 69 benches in 2023, three years after venue director Tad Bowman first observed the quantity of gum beneath the seats.
Pia Valeriana, a volunteer at Friends of Red Rocks, commented that “gum is not even permitted inside the amphitheatre, but how do you prevent that? People have it in their purses, in their pockets.” She stressed that supporters of the venue ought to “chew responsibly” and throw away gum in paper rather than discarding it underneath the seating.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, located roughly 10 miles to the southwest of the city of Denver, is a seated venue that hosts up to 10,000 visitors each weekend night throughout the summer season. The venue will open on 30th March for the upcoming season, with scheduled performances from musicians including Jungle, Dom Dolla, and Deadmau5.
Friends of Red Rocks was founded in 1999 with the goal of “preserving Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre by hosting trail cleanups and activities to keep Red Rocks a beautiful place”. The volunteer group removed 186kg of trash and 92kg of recycling materials from the venue last year.
The group hopes to ensure that people do not take the venue for granted and will respect it in its natural form. “It’s disrespectful of this natural wonder we want to preserve in its most pristine way,” said Valeriana. She added that the venue is a unique place that requires preservation
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