Denver’s Old House Society announces today that the 2011 Old House Fair will be held Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011, at the Tivoli on the Auraria campus, 900 Auraria Parkway. Specifically for owners of houses at least 50-years old, the event includes workshops, exhibits and tours of the historic venue. The date was chosen to coincide with the 2011 Saving Places Conference, held by Colorado Preservation, Inc., February 2-4. The Society also announced the Old House Fair’s first sponsor is the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning.

The Old House Fair attracts participants from throughout Denver, the metro area, Boulder, communities along the I25 corridor from Pueblo to Fort Collins, and mountain towns such as Estes Park and Evergreen. Workshops focus on enhancing energy efficiency, maintaining and restoring old houses, and appropriate design elements for specific architectural styles and eras. Exhibitors include companies that specialize in old houses and retailers and artists who cater to owners of Victorians, Bungalows, Denver Squares, Tudors and Mid-century Modern homes.

"It seemed only natural to have the Old House Fair the Saturday following the Saving Places Conference”, stated board chair, Suzanne Minear, AIA. “Our focus is educating owners of old houses, providing them with the knowledge and tools to save the most personal pieces of our past, our homes. We wanted to make sure the conference attendees, many of whom come from communities outside of Denver, had access to this information at a convenient time and location for them."

“We sometimes lose sight of the preservation needs of historic homeowners when dealing with the ever-challenging task of protecting the historic resources across Colorado,” says James Hare, Executive Director of Colorado Preservation, Inc. “However, keeping historic houses in our neighborhoods, and keeping people living in them, is part of the foundation for historic preservation. We are very excited to be partnering with Denver’s Old House Society to create a unique educational opportunity for participants at both the 2011 Saving Places conference and the Denver’s Old House Society’s Fair”.

The only organization of its kind in the state, Denver’s Old House Society is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to educating owners of old houses (50+ years old) and helping them protect their neighborhoods. Founded on Colorado Day, August 1, 2008, Denver’s Old House Society, Inc. is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes and works, in conjunction with local people and organizations, through educational and advocacy efforts.