Ten Dollars Gets You 2,000 Sculptures and 160 Artists in Loveland

Ten dollars. That is the number that gets you in the gate at Benson Sculpture Garden this weekend, and for that price you get to walk 10 acres filled with more than 2,000 sculptures. Two thousand. Bronze horses, abstract steel, wildlife, figures, the whole range. And the people who made those pieces? A lot of them are standing right there next to their work, happy to talk to you.

This is the Sculpture in the Park Show and Sale, and it is the largest outdoor juried sculpture show and sale in the entire United States. Not Colorado. The country. It happens an hour north of Denver, about 50 miles up Interstate 25, and most people I talk to have no idea it is this big.

The 42nd year, and it started with five guys

Here is the part people miss. This thing did not start as some giant national event. Back in 1984, five Loveland sculptors got together with the Loveland Chamber of Commerce and put on the very first Sculpture in the Park. The names matter, so I am going to give them to you. Dan Ostermiller. George Lundeen. Fritz White. Hollis Williford. George Walbye. Five artists who wanted a place to show their work.

That first year they had 50 artists. It drew 2,000 visitors and did $50,000 in sales. Solid start. But look at where it went. Forty-two years later we are talking about roughly 160 national and international artists and more than 2,000 individual pieces, every single one of them for sale.

And that is the thing about Loveland. They call it the Sweetheart City, mostly because of the whole Valentine's Day remailing tradition, but honestly the town's real love affair is with art. If you have driven through Loveland you have seen the bronzes on the corners. This weekend is the biggest expression of that.

What it actually costs and when to show up

Let me break down the money and the times, because it is genuinely reasonable.

The whole thing runs Friday through Sunday, August 7 to 9, 2026.

Friday, August 7 is the fancy one. That is the Patron Party, 3 to 8 p.m., and it is ticketed. A limited number of tickets at

00 each, guests 21 and older only. So if you want the first crack at the work and a more grown-up evening, that is your night.

Saturday and Sunday are the days for everybody else. Saturday runs 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday goes 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Gate admission both days is

0, and kids 14 and under get in free. So a family of four with two little ones is looking at 20 bucks to spend a day surrounded by world-class sculpture. That is less than two movie tickets, and nobody is shushing you for eating popcorn.

Parking can get tight, which is normal for something this size. But they thought about it. Free shuttle buses, run by Thompson Valley School District, roll on Saturday and Sunday from four spots. Orchard's Shopping Center, Loveland Olde Golf Course, Cattail Creek Golf Course, and King of Glory Lutheran Church. Park at one of those, hop the shuttle, skip the headache.

The address is Benson Sculpture Garden, 2908 Aspen Drive, Loveland, CO 80538. If you want tickets or info, you call the Loveland High Plains Arts Council at (970) 663-2940.

The garden is worth it even when the show is not on

Now here is something worth knowing. Benson Sculpture Garden is not just an empty field they fill up once a year. It is a roughly 10-acre park that holds close to 200 permanent sculptures, collected over the decades. So when you walk through this weekend you are seeing the 2,000 show pieces layered on top of the 200 that already live there.

And where does the money go? The show is produced by the Loveland High Plains Arts Council, and the proceeds fund the acquisition of more sculptures, plus landscaping and other improvements to the garden itself. So when you buy that

0 ticket, or buy an actual piece, you are literally paying for the next bronze that ends up in the park permanently. It is a nice loop. The show pays for the garden that hosts the show.

This year they are also marking a milestone with a commemorative bronze ornament and prints of Carol Gold's celebrated sculpture "Fiesta." That is the kind of thing that goes fast, so if you collect that stuff, get there early.

Why I would actually go

I have been watching this show for years, and the thing that keeps pulling me back is not just the scale. It is the access. Most art you see behind glass or across a velvet rope. Here you are standing on grass, in August, and the artist who spent months on a piece is three feet away and will tell you exactly how they did it. That does not happen at a museum.

And honestly, Hayley and I could wander that garden for hours and not spend a dime past the gate fee. Bring water, wear real shoes, and give yourself more time than you think you need. Two thousand sculptures on 10 acres is a lot of ground.

An hour from Denver. Ten dollars. One weekend a year. Go.