The Piknik Theatre might be weeks away from breaking ground on an outdoor amphitheater if the nonprofit can close in on the last bit of funding it needs to complete the project.

The effort to build an outdoor amphitheater at the Strawberry Park Elementary School campus has been ongoing for years, and even though approvals from the county and school district were secured in 2023, the outdoor amphitheater faced a handful of setbacks last summer that poured cold water on the project.

Being pursued through a partnership between the Steamboat Springs School District and Piknik Theatre, the new performance venue would be an all-acoustic outdoor amphitheater without sound amplification or lights of any kind. As envisioned, the school district would have priority use of the facility, and it would also give the Piknik Theatre a home throughout the summer — one that could be shared with other performing arts and music groups across the community.

Piknik Theatre Executive Director Stuart Handloff had hoped to break ground on the project last year, but the contractor informed the nonprofit that the cost would be significantly higher than originally anticipated, effectively delaying the effort.

However, Handloff said over the phone Saturday that a new contractor is in place with Finney Construction, and the project’s original $650,000 price tag is locked in without making any changes to its design. According to Handloff, that just leaves one last push for funding.

Handloff said the project was $100,000 shy of its goal in February with $550,000 already committed or in the bank at that time. Handloff said they’ve narrowed the gap to roughly $75,000 since then, and they recently got another boost with a $25,000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor.

“Once we get the grant matched, that means we’ll only be short $25,000,” he said. “But the time deadline is approaching as well. We need to meet our contractor’s commitment by May 17, which is three or four weeks off. So we’re getting close, but we still need some significant donations.”

If they can tie up the remaining shortfall, Handloff said he expects to break ground in early June and see the project finished sometime in September. That would have the outdoor amphitheater ready in time for school use in 2024, and for local performing arts groups in 2025.

Handloff said the Yampa Valley Botanic Park has been great to the theater by giving it a place to operate over the years — but the two groups have different missions, and Piknik Theatre needs its own venue. The way he describes it, that venue would also serve a variety of groups and fill a need as something that Steamboat Springs doesn’t currently have in town.

“We feel like the community — the students, our audience — really are excited about the performing arts, not just Piknik Theatre, but music and dance and opera, all that are going to be able to use this outdoor facility,” Handloff said. “We feel confident we’ve got those numbers, but without a facility, we’re going to be struggling to be able to do this year in and year out. In order to be sustainable, we’ve got to have a home.”

At the same time, Handloff is also preparing for Piknik’s summer season to kick off in June. On the schedule this year are music, community outreach and educational summer camps focusing on the work of William Shakespeare.

The Piknik Theatre’s first summer camp will be June 17-28 for ages 9 to 18 years old, and a second camp will be offered July 22-26 for ages 6 to 9 years old. The summer camp production is scheduled for June 28, featuring a cast of local students and adult actors working with professional artists. For more, go to PiknikTheatre.org/.