On a recent Saturday night at the Wheeler Opera House, twenty-somethings mobbed the bar like savanna animals at a watering hole before the dry season. After waving money in the bartenders' faces, they walked away double-fisting pre-made Red Bull vodkas and carrying six-packs of Bud Light - stockpiling.
That was The Meeting, which is unarguably one of the more raucous and rowdy events hosted by the Wheeler.
Five nights later, in the quiet calm of off-season, a few couples ordered glasses of wine before heading into the flick, "Bottle Shock."
This time around, bartender Alice Goldfarb had a chance to joke with patrons, telling them about the movie or chiding their hairstyles.
"I can be a little more off the wall here," she says. "I like meeting people and pouring drinks, and the community aspect."
By day, Goldfarb is employed by the Forest Service in the summer and Aspen Skiing Co. during the winters. She's had the Wheeler gig for more than three years, working for the hourly wage paid by the city of Aspen plus tips.
"I still like working when it's crowded," she says, of The Meeting. "You just have to focus more, and can't throw your hands up like 'Oh my God, what do I do now?'"
Goldfarb, who is nearing 60, works behind the bar with a group of quirky, take-no-shit, longtime Aspen women. They are familiar faces around town, and moonlighting behind the bar means popping up in another public place.
Martha Moran, the recreation manager for the Aspen/Sopris Ranger District and volunteer for Mountain Rescue, is one of them.
"It's offered me cultural opportunities that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise," she says. "And I like the variety of people that come in, from the ski folks who are young pups and fired up, to the Filmfest crowd. ... There's a great cross-section."
She's often found manning the Maroon Bells welcome station during the day.
"It's a ying/yang position, because I work in this bureaucracy, and then I can work behind the bar and it can be channeling and fresh. ... I don't need work that much there (for money), but I just like it. The accouterments to the job are why I do it."
Moran started out as an usher, which is a volunteer position as far as front-of-the-house jobs go at the Wheeler. They take tickets, answer questions and then get a chance to check out whatever's onstage that night. There is a pool of about 120 usher volunteers right now, and they make their own schedules, signing up for shifts on a first-come, first-serve basis and working as much or as little as they want.
"If someone wants to see a show like Art Garfunkel, they can usher and see it for free," says Lauren Pierce, the front of the house manager. "It's an opportunity for them to get out on the town."
It's a social circle for mostly the middle-aged to semi-retired in the community - those who are beyond bellying up to the bar and fighting for a beer, but still want to be a heartbeat in the pulse of the town. Whether it be the community interaction, or chatting with another volunteer once the crowds have moved into the theater, it's a job for a people person.
"For me, it was a way to do something social, but not something you needed a date for," says Denise Lock, who started as an usher and is now an assistant house manager. "That's what I tell people who are interested in volunteering. ... It's a nice way to meet people and there's such a great variety of shows here."
As a musician herself, Laurie Loeb not only ushers at the Wheeler, but has been on its stage several times too. The Carbondale resident volunteers for a couple of other organizations, such as KDNK and the Carbondale Council for Arts and Humanities, but says working at the Wheeler feels like "a privilege."
"Volunteerism is what makes this valley work," she says. "The valley needs volunteers to make things work, and this is one with a payback."
Though she's only been working at the Wheeler for three or four years, with close to five decades in the valley she remembers coming here in the '50s as a music student and recalling the historic establishment as something that's always "been a special place."
The 118-year old building was erected for the same purpose it has today: a performing arts center. After damage from two major fires, the city of Aspen took over ownership of the building - and its restoration - in 1984. Now, it's home to an eclectic movie lineup that rivals those in metropolitan cities, and everything from community theater to major acts such as Aimee Mann and Ben Harper.
And in the spirit of anything - person, place or building - that's adopted by a community, it takes those concerned citizens to make it feel like that sort of place.
The Wheeler, in its years, has become more than a house. It's a home.
christine@aspendailynews.com
