​Volunteer group remove 22kg of chewing gum from Red Rocks Amphitheatre

A volunteer group in Colorado has removed more than 22kg of “prohibited” chewing gum from beneath the seats of Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

According to FOX31, non-profit organisation Friends of Red Rocks has helped to remove forbidden gum from the open-air venue in an effort to “preserve the magic of Red Rocks”.

The Colorado-based music venue, which sits about 10 miles southwest of Denver, bans chewing gum amongst other things, such as hula hoops, alcohol, umbrellas, full face masks, and bullhorns.

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Around 50lbs (22.6kg) of chewing gum was scraped from beneath the amphitheatre's 69 benches over the course of 2023, volunteers explained, around three years after venue director Tad Bowman noted the amount of gum under the venue’s seats.

“Gum is not even permitted inside the amphitheatre, but how do you prevent that? People have it in their purses, in their pockets,” Pia Valeriana, a volunteer at Friends of Red Rocks, told FOX31.

She added that “dried gum doesn’t hardly weigh anything”, and hopes that people will now “chew responsibly” and dispose of gum in paper rather than underneath the seats.

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“It’s disrespectful of this natural wonder we want to preserve in its most pristine way,” she told FOX31. “We just want people to be aware, and don’t take this place for granted. This is a unique place.”

Red Rocks, a seated amphitheatre hosting up to 10,000 people a night each weekend, begins its next season on March 30, running throughout the summer. Artists set to perform this year include Dom Dolla, Jungle, and Deadmau5.

Friends of Red Rocks was formed in 1999 with a mission to “preserve Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre by hosting trail cleanups and activities to keep Red Rocks a beautiful place”. Last year, the volunteer group removed 186kg of trash and 92kg of recycling from the venue.

[Via FOX31]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter