Mary Pat McCurdie Champions Lifelong Support for the Arts in Fort Collins

Longtime Fort Collins resident and arts advocate Mary Pat McCurdie has spent nearly four decades supporting the local cultural community through performance, leadership, and philanthropy. She and her husband have lived in Fort Collins since 1986 and raised their son there. Over the years, they have embraced the active Colorado lifestyle, skiing, hiking, and bicycling, while also becoming deeply involved in the region’s vibrant arts scene.

Mary Pat McCurdie’s professional path has been varied, including work as an aerospace engineer, graduate studies in engineering, a role as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard, and later as the owner of a retail business. Alongside those careers, she balanced family life while remaining closely connected to the performing arts community.

Shortly after arriving in Fort Collins, McCurdie attended a performance by the Fort Collins Symphony and was immediately struck by the quality of the orchestra. That early impression eventually led to a deeper level of involvement. She has now served on the symphony’s board of directors for over six years and currently holds the position of vice president.

Her connection to dance began in 1987 when she started taking advanced adult ballet classes at Canyon Concert Ballet. Encouraged by a friend, she auditioned for the company and was accepted into the performing ensemble. She performed with the organization from 1987 to 2008, stepping away at times when family and professional commitments demanded her attention. During that time she also served on the Canyon Concert Ballet board of directors from 2005 to 2011. Beyond her direct involvement, McCurdie has remained a regular audience member at local theater, dance, and music performances across the city.

Her commitment to sustaining the arts in the community led to the creation of the Arts Without End Fund, an initiative designed to help young artists maintain a lifelong connection to the arts after their student years.

The inspiration for the fund emerged during her years as owner of Prima Bodywear, a dancewear and supply store that served the local dance community from 2002 to 2016. While working in the store she frequently heard young dancers say they felt they had “aged out” of dance once they turned eighteen and were no longer eligible for student competitions. Many also expressed little interest in attending performances after they stopped dancing themselves.

At the same time, McCurdie observed a similar pattern in another part of the arts world. Her son, who had played in symphonic orchestras since his teenage years, stopped performing after leaving his college orchestra and did not continue attending concerts as an audience member. These experiences highlighted a broader challenge facing arts organizations: building a bridge between youth participation and lifelong engagement as audience members, donors, and supporters.

McCurdie notes that thousands of students participate in band, orchestra, choir, theater, and dance programs during their school years. If even a portion of those students continued attending performances as adults, the impact on arts organizations and cultural life would be significant.

Since its creation, the Arts Without End Fund has supported opportunities that help young artists remain connected to the arts. One example involved a local dance organization that was able to provide an internship for a dancer who had recently graduated from college. Participants described the experience as mutually rewarding, with both the intern and adult company members learning from each other.

Another internship supported through the fund placed a recent music graduate in the symphony office for a year to explore whether nonprofit arts administration might be a career path. The experience proved transformative, and the intern ultimately left early to accept a full-time position with a symphony in another community.

“Looking ahead, I hope to see continued growth and stability for the arts in Fort Collins. Cities like Denver, Boulder, Salt Lake City, Portland, and Saint Paul have created dedicated funding streams to support their performing arts organizations, and I believe similar support could strengthen the cultural ecosystem here in Northern Colorado. Another possibility would be building significant endowments, where the investment income could fund a large portion of an organization’s operating costs and help ensure long-term sustainability.” McCurdie says. 

Ultimately, McCurdie hopes that local arts organizations achieve long-term financial stability and full houses, allowing them to expand their audiences and develop new artistic work.

For community members who want to support the arts, McCurdie emphasizes that participation begins with something simple: attending performances and inviting friends to join. She notes that many people are surprised to learn that Fort Collins is home to both a professional symphony and a professional ballet company. She also encourages residents to contribute to annual fundraising appeals, explaining that ticket revenue alone rarely covers the cost of producing performances. Donations and community support are essential for arts organizations to plan for the future and continue bringing high-quality performances to the region.