Fraser has always been known as a creative place. But now the little mountain town at the seat of the Continental Divide is truly showing its colors.

Artists have been hard at work this summer in Fraser, bringing their creative visions to life on a massive scale with new murals popping up throughout town.

Western slope artist Jeremy Velasquez was tasked with capturing eccentric, extraterrestrial imagery after winning first prize at Fraser’s Mountain Mural Festival, but he also wanted to stay true to his personal style. Luckily, his funky ideas were embraced by local art-lovers, he said.

After being announced the winner on Aug. 3, he spent about a week bringing his outer space-themed scene to life on the outer wall of Camber Brewery using spray paint. The finished product is an eclectic homage to the mural commissioner’s pets and the town of Fraser’s “Leaving Planet Earth,” with some personal touches and even “a few hidden easter eggs,” Velasquez said.

“The mystery element is important to me,” he said. “I’d like to keep it that way.”

The massive mural features a starry galaxy with a floating astronaut at its center. She smiles gently as she holds the hand of another space explorer. On her right a space-suited dog jumps out of the composition, and to her left, a moose plushy toy floats by. These additions honor Camber Brewery owner Nick Crabb’s dogs Loli and Moose.

“I injected a lot of meaning into that mural, and I try to do that with most of my murals, Velasquez said. “I think that art should make you stop and think.”

Being selected for Fraser’s Mountain Mural Festival was a huge honor, he said, admitting that the competition intimidated him.

“This year, there were more people that came from all over,” he said. “There were people from Florida, Texas, Michigan… I was just kind of overwhelmed with the with the talent that was there.”

Winning first place was almost unimaginable, Velasquez said, recalling his previous unsuccessful attempt to submit his work to the mural competition three years ago. He was not selected, but something urged him to apply again.

Steve Fitzgerald, president of Fraser Valley Arts and member of the Fraser Public Arts Committee, said the growing festival has become increasingly competitive, and narrowing a pool of about 80 applicants down to 30 finalists was a tough process this year.

“There’s always more qualified and exceptional artists than we have room for,” he said. “Part of the challenge we’ve got is to always keep a good blend of national, regional and local artists.”

Like Velasquez, Denver artist Gus Rey had trouble breaking in to the mural festival’s artist lineup. His application was denied in 2024 and again in 2025, but he secured a spot when another artist dropped out.

While he did not win a festival prize, Fraser Valley Distilling reached out to him afterward to commission a mural for their building, and he worked with them to combine wildlife depictions of a moose and birds with stacked whiskey barrels to incorporate the distillery’s best-selling product.

As the mural festival grows, Fraser Valley Arts gets closer to raising the remaining funds needed to break ground on its proposed arts center, Fitzgerald said. Depending on the construction costs and timeline for raising a remaining estimated $2 million, Fraser could see construction on the new arts center as soon as 2027.

The center is planned to have community studio space, a gallery and a performing arts space to host events such as musicians, comedians or even Japanese drum corps, Fitzgerald said, and it fits into the town of Fraser’s strategic plan that brands the town as an art-centric community.

In addition to the mural festival, the town of Fraser and Fraser Valley Arts host events throughout the year such as the Fire and Ice Festival in February, National Theater at the Foundry and Plein Air @ Altitude that raise awareness and money toward the center’s eventual construction.

“Of course, the whole effort here is to build an arts center,” Fitzgerald said. “All of that stuff is part of realizing that vision.”

With large-scale art installations filling up walls throughout town, Fitzgerald noted that proof of Fraser’s art-friendly attitude is literally painted on the walls.

“Now, Fraser is the town people know as having cool murals,” he said.