Flavors of Casa Bonita fill Next Gallery in annual art show

Catch the Casa Bonita-themed works of art until March 6

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

What could be better than dripping sopapillas from Casa Bonita? A statue of dripping sopapillas from Casa Bonita.

This statue and many more Casa Bonita-themed works of art can be found at Next Gallery in Lakewood, in the same plaza as the famous pink-towered restaurant, as it hosts a Casa Bonita Art Show. Artists from down Colfax Avenue all the way to Georgia have submitted entries for the show, which runs until March 6.

“It’s always had sort of a quirky reputation,” said Betsy “Dolla B” Rudolph, a resident artist and organizer of the show since its start.

She explained that since Next Gallery was priced out of its previous space in 2017 and moved to Lakewood, it’s been hosting the Casa Bonita Art Show.

“We needed to sort of get our name out, let the neighborhood know we were there,” Rudolph said. “And, also let the neighborhood know we were approachable and not like a fancypants art gallery.”

So, creating a whole show on the “quirky” restaurant next door was her idea to do that.

“It was a great way to attract people who had never been part of an art show,” she said, attracting new and working artists as well. “Every since the people still want it. And I see people through the summer already thinking about their Casa Bonita piece.”

Nowadays, the show is mostly known by word of mouth and tradition, but when Casa Bonita closed during the pandemic, Rudolph said the gallery was worried the show might die as well.

The gallery pushed through, and now, with a renewed buzz due to South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone renovating the restaurant to open again, the art show has a renewed “energy” as well.

Next Gallery is open 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.