For three and a half years, Melody Campbell managed events for the City of Woodland Park, including at the Ute Pass Cultural Center and Shining Mountain Golf Course. In August she started a new job as the first special events director at Tava House, the restaurant and event venue at 120 S. Center St. She has already added live music with Cari Dell, an office trivia night, and music-video bingo in the Taproom on Wednesdays. Line dancing led by dancers from Dana's Dance in Woodland Park is next.
That move explains how October looks in Woodland Park this year. On most October evenings there's something going on at a city venue or at Tava House, and on some nights both. The Tava half of that calendar sits on land the town spent more than two decades trying to fill.
The Lot That Waited
Woodland Station is the open ground in the middle of downtown. Back in 2019, the Pikes Peak Courier wrote that the Woodland Park Downtown Development Authority had wanted to develop the site ever since voters created the DDA almost 20 years earlier. Several plans had been explored, and Woodland Hardware was the only one that got built. One idea that year was a temporary terraced event venue to make use of the land while the DDA waited for a private developer. In 2020, one development team's proposal shifted from a restaurant to mixed-use rental housing while traffic studies and negotiations dragged on.
The deal that finally went through started with a 2022 competition. ForgeWorks offered $200,000 and a $1.8 million infrastructure reserve for about 6.3 acres, and Derek Waggoner's investor group offered $800,000 cash. A majority of the DDA board preferred Waggoner's offer. Board member Jerry Good cast the only vote against it, citing concerns about future expenses such as infrastructure.
The finances kept changing after that. At a March 3, 2026, DDA meeting, Tava House investors asked for $743,224 in tax increment financing to cover public improvements. The board capped reimbursements at $400,000 over six years, which is about when the DDA is expected to sunset. The investors estimated the improvements at $1.7 million. That covers infrastructure, turn lanes into the property, an extension of Saddle Club Drive and sidewalks along U.S. 24, and the Colorado Department of Transportation required some of that work. Mayor Kellie Case spoke to the board during the meeting and pointed out that Tava had taken on a "big hole" in Woodland Station.
The whole project is estimated at $9.7 million and includes an event center and retail. The coverage so far gives no construction or opening schedule for those later pieces.
How Tava House Opened in Stages
The restaurant opened in stages instead of all at once. On May 8, an investor told The Gazette that Tava House was open for business after receiving a temporary certificate of occupancy the week before. A May 26 review said the Taproom and River Room had officially opened just over a week earlier. Firebrand Steakhouse was still being finished at that point. By July 8, The Gazette was describing Firebrand and Bar Above the Clouds as newly opened.
That makes October the first fall with all four rooms open. The Gazette's Oct. 1 review of the Taproom covers the practical details:
- Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
- Entrance: on the south side of the building
- Reservations: not accepted
- Entrée prices: $9 to $29, with a bar and outdoor seating
- Overflow: when the Taproom fills, guests may be seated in the River Room, which the reviewer described as having a postcard view of Pikes Peak
The reviewer liked the homestead meatloaf, $25, served as three meatballs over sweet potatoes with collard greens. The shrimp and grits came on blue grits for $26. On the night of that review, an event had the small Taproom packed and loud. Since the Taproom doesn't take reservations, it helps to check the event schedule before you go.
One Month, Two Calendars
Campbell's old venues and her new one are running full fall schedules at the same time. Here is October in date order, with city events and Tava events listed together:
- Thursday, Oct. 8. Comedy Night at Tava House, 7 to 9 p.m., with doors at 6:30.
- Monday, Oct. 12. The first Sweat & Sip fitness class at Tava, 11 a.m., in partnership with Woodland Fitness. More classes follow on Oct. 19, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2.
- Tuesday, Oct. 13. Line Dancing Above the Clouds, 6 to 8 p.m. The series runs the second Tuesday of every month, so the next one is Nov. 10.
- Wednesday, Oct. 14. A free concert with Dalton LaFever at the Ute Pass Cultural Center, 210 E. Midland Ave., 6 to 8 p.m., with doors at 5:30. Music-video bingo is in the Tava Taproom the same night.
- Thursday, Oct. 15. Halloween-themed Kiwanis bingo at the Ute Pass Cultural Center, starting at 6:30 p.m. A 10-game packet costs $20, and proceeds support youth programs and scholarships.
- Thursday, Oct. 22. Masquerading for Murder at Tava, a ticketed dinner event for $80, with doors at 5:30 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 23. The Hallow-Palooza Pumpkin Dive at the Woodland Aquatic Center, 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is required.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27. Melody Ranch at Tava, free live music from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 30. Trick-or-treating and a dog-costume contest at Memorial Park, followed by costume cornhole in the evening at Shining Mountain Golf Club.
Campbell is also arranging private events at Tava, including weddings. She told the Pikes Peak Courier, "September/October is wedding season now in Colorado." The public event list is only part of what happens in the building.
Two Deadlines in the Same Weeks
Two things close before the end of the month.
North Slope Recreation Area closes Sunday, Oct. 18. From Oct. 1 until closing day, Crystal and the North and South Catamount reservoirs are open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Coming from Woodland Park, take U.S. 24 east to the Pikes Peak Highway exit in Cascade. A North Slope day pass costs $5 per person for ages 16 and up, kids under 16 get in free, and you also need a $1 parking permit, which can be bought online ahead of time. Kayak and paddleboard rentals ended on Labor Day.
The Shop & Dine Passport ends Saturday, Oct. 31. Woodland Park Main Street's fall program started Sept. 1. Submit five valid receipts from locally owned small businesses inside the Main Street boundaries and you get 20% of the total back as a gift card to a local business, up to $100. Restaurant receipts count at the pre-tip amount. All five receipts have to come from the same phone number, and gift cards are handed out while supplies last. The city's Shop & Dine Passport page has the list of eligible businesses and the boundary map, so check there before counting any downtown receipt.
Newer stores on Midland Avenue may be on that list too. OneFix Repair opened this year at 109 W. Midland Ave. and repairs phones, tablets and computers. Les Schwab Tires opened its first Teller County location at 902 W. Midland Ave. on May 27. Tacos El Amigo #4 took over Serrano's old space in the Safeway-anchored shopping center after Serrano's moved to Florissant.
The Oldest Building Downtown Got News the Same Week
While one downtown parcel was finally being built out, the City Council voted on Oct. 1 to protect another. The council made the Griffith Cabin at 116 W. Lake Ave., just north of Memorial Park, a local historic landmark. County assessor records estimate it was built in 1899. The city's findings point to its intact rustic architecture and its vertical and horizontal slab-log siding. They also note its history as Allie Griffith's summer and weekend home starting in 1926. If you're at Memorial Park for the Oct. 30 dog-costume contest, the cabin is a short walk north.
Woodland Station's later phases, retail and an event center, still have no public timeline. For now, the old lot's contribution to the town is a Taproom open 11 to 9 every day and an October lineup that sits alongside the city's own calendar.
If you own a home in Woodland Park and want to know how a busier downtown, including the new life at Woodland Station, fits into what your property could be worth, The Lauber Group can put together a current, local estimate for you. Start with Get Your Home Value, and Chad or Todd will follow up personally.
