In The Heart Of Colorado Lies One Of The Most Culturally Rich Gardens In America With Over 80 Stone Sculptures

Folks headed out to the parking lot at The Promenade Shops at Centerra mall in Loveland, Colorado, might notice some unusual stone statues in the neighboring park when tossing their shopping bags into their car. Interlaced with walking trails and copses of greenery, each one of these 82 statues is a unique, handcrafted, evocative figure composed of flowing lines, stark geometry, and impressionist-meets-representative facets that can't help but catch the eye. Far from being random objets d'art for lingering mallgoers, these figures and their park — Chapungu Sculpture Park — represent a one-of-a-kind, 50-year-old labor of love to curate Zimbabwean sculptures on American soil.

Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra has roots in a 1950s African art movement that cropped up in communities like Tengenenge, a village in Zimbabwe's north. What began as a handful of artists supported by Chapungu has become a multigenerational, open-air sculpture garden that's the largest of its type in the U.S. Opened to the public in 2007, Chapungu – which means "Great Spirit Bird" to Zimbabwe's linguistically and ethnically distinct Shona people — stands as both a testament to artistic prowess and a repository for cultural mores. 

Its sculptures all fit within eight themes separated into different sections within the park: Custom and Legends, the Role of Women, the Spirit World, the Elders, the Village, Nature and Environment, the Children, and the Family. Located in Loveland and less than 30 minutes from Fort Collins and within sight of the Rocky Mountains, Chapungu Sculpture Park makes a worthy trip in and of itself, as well as a more-than-worthy add-on to any Coloradan foray.

Far from being a tiny art gallery that you can walk through in five minutes while sagely nodding your head, Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra is 26 acres large. Judging by the park's Instagram, it hosts plenty of activities around the year in addition to its daily, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. regular hours. Weddings, fundraisers, concerts, and whatever kind of sui generis event that you'd like to book, all center on the park's Great Lawn. Zimbabwean statues will look on and watch, like extra guests, no matter what you do.

But even though you could linger in Chapungu Sculpture Park for quite some time, lazing around and admiring the scenery, it'll typically take about one to two hours to see the whole thing at a reasonable pace. And while The Promenade Shops at Centerra is a literal stone's throw away, there are lots of better things to do in Colorado besides putz around a mall. Fort Collins to the north has become something of an open secret at this point, an outdoor paradise full of mountain charm and shops. It has such a strangely scenic, fairytale look to it that it's even comparable to that magic feeling Disney fans get when walking Main Street, USA. 

And because this is Colorado we're talking about, there's no lack of activities of all types. There are easy-going, relatively flat nature walks directly in Loveland, where Chapungu Sculpture Park is located, all the way to expert-level rock climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park, a hidden gem for outdoor adventures.