The City of Fort Collins Arts & Culture Department is rolling out new hearing technology across several of its facilities, thanks to a generous donation from Audiology Group of Northern Colorado.
The initiative took root here at The Lincoln Center, where staff had been exploring ways to improve access and further the City’s commitment to accessibility. Around the same time, Dr. Dan Ostergren of Audiology Group of Northern Colorado reached out to ask whether his practice could help support audio accessibility through a donation—specifically, toward a new technology called Auracast.
Auracast is a Bluetooth technology that allows venues to broadcast sound directly to compatible hearing aids, earbuds and headphones.
“Audiology Group of Northern Colorado is proud to partner with the City of Fort Collins to provide current, state-of-the-art assistive technology for our community members who wear Auracast compatible hearing devices,” Ostergren said. Legacy “loop” systems, he noted, are “being rapidly supplanted by Auracast broadcast systems, which deliver a consistent, high-quality signal, sent directly to Auracast compatible hearing devices improving auditory access to music, theater, public meetings, etc.” The goal, he said, is simple: “We believe a healthy community requires engagement from everyone, regardless of their challenges, and providing Auracast technology maximizes that access.”
An Auracast transmitter connects to a venue’s audio system and broadcasts the sound directly to compatible Bluetooth Auracast devices—including earbuds, headphones and hearing aids.
The donation’s reach extends across three Arts & Culture venues. At The Lincoln Center, Auracast will be installed in the Performance Hall, the Magnolia Theater, and the venue’s most-used event spaces, joining the existing hearing loop system to give patrons multiple ways to access audio. At Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, the technology will serve visitors in the OtterBox Digital Dome Theater. And at The Gardens on Spring Creek, Auracast will reach audiences on the Great Lawn during summer concerts and other outdoor programming.
Beyond these three venues, the gift also funded a portable Auracast unit that can bring Auracast technology to FoCo POP shows, and other Arts & Culture programs and events anywhere in the city—extending accessibility well past any single building’s walls.
Interest in the project is already spreading. Fort Collins Television (FCTV) recently contacted the Arts & Culture team to learn more about the rollout and how Auracast, along with existing hearing accessibility technology, might inform future accessibility improvements in other facilities, such as in Council Chambers.
This gift from Audiology Group of Northern Colorado helps create greater access to the City’s artistic and cultural programs. More than that, it sends a clear signal of what’s possible when accessibility becomes a shared responsibility and community generosity helps move it forward.
To learn more about supporting accessibility and other Arts & Culture initiatives, visit FortCollins.gov/Give.