The last exhibit before the long closure was "A Graphic Journey: Prints by Pablo Picasso." When it ended on May 26, the galleries at 400 Quail Road went dark for construction. Classes, concerts, films and camps kept running in the building the whole time. Next Saturday, Oct. 17, the galleries reopen. A ribbon-cutting starts things at 9 a.m., followed by free admission, tours, historical talks, art classes, Discovery Days crafts and animated films until 5 p.m.
Opening day will draw a crowd, but the museum's own fall calendar spreads out from there. The two headline exhibitions run into late January. Most Thursdays now have evening hours. And the museum set its two free-admission days for this season on the same Saturdays as two of the City's biggest community events. The new building is meant for repeat visits, and the schedule shows it.
What the Extra Gallery Space Is For
According to the City of Longmont's reopening announcement, the nearly $10 million expansion adds 70% more public gallery space. The museum opened in 2002. The Stewart Auditorium was added in 2015, and the Longmont Leader reports that the building had no other significant renovation before this one.
Until now, the museum had a single changing gallery. Its exhibits had to serve either adults who came for art and history or families who came for shows like the earlier Lego exhibit. They couldn't do both at once. Museum Director Erik Mason explained it to the Leader:
"Because we have only had one gallery that changes in the past, we have not had a full gallery space that serves both audiences at the same time. We are really excited to be able to serve a broader audience all year round."
The new floor plan solves that problem. The City's capital campaign page says the expansion nearly doubles the feature gallery, adds a permanent children's gallery, increases office and support space, and gives the courtyard a stage. The reopening release names the larger space the Bill Stewart Feature Gallery. An earlier City fundraising release says the expanded museum also adds a new permanent history gallery. The children's space, which opens Oct. 17, is DreamLab in Lila's Children's Gallery, with a 17-foot dragon castle and a sensory Crystal Cave. Families will be able to use it while adults are a few rooms away at the traveling exhibition.
Louisville-based Essenza Architecture designed the expansion after nearly five years of planning with the museum. Mark Young Construction built it. The Stewart Family Foundation was the largest donor. The City puts its gift at more than $6 million, and the Leader reports about $6.7 million. More than 450 individuals, foundations and corporations also gave, and the campaign went past its original goal.
Two Exhibitions With Long Runs
The first shows in the new galleries stay up for months, so there's no reason to see them on the busiest day.
"Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Portrait" opens the Bill Stewart Feature Gallery and runs Oct. 17 through Sunday, Jan. 31. It brings together 98 photographs from Kahlo's private albums along with handwritten letters and notes. Some photos were taken by her father, the professional photographer Guillermo Kahlo. Others show her marriage to muralist Diego Rivera, her friendships, and more.
"Women Artists: Four Centuries of Creativity" runs Oct. 17 through Sunday, Jan. 24, a week shorter than the Kahlo show. Artists in the show include Rosa Bonheur, Sonia Delaunay, Käthe Kollwitz, Louise Nevelson and Françoise Gilot.
Each exhibition lists $12 for adults and $8 for children, with free entry for members. The Kahlo listing doesn't mention a separate timed ticket. To see both shows in one trip, go before Jan. 24.
Thursdays Are When the Museum Programs Around the Exhibitions
The Fall 2026 museum brochure gives the regular hours starting Oct. 17: Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 to 5 p.m., and extra hours most Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m. That Thursday evening slot is where the museum has put almost all of the programming tied to the Kahlo and Women Artists shows:
- Art & Sip: Embroidery Frida Portrait, Thursday, Oct. 15, 4 to 8:30 p.m., two days before the galleries reopen
- Art & Sip: Floral Crown, Thursday, Oct. 22, 4 to 8:30 p.m.
- ¡Viva la Vida! A Tribute to Frida Kahlo, Thursday, Oct. 22, 7 to 9 p.m.
- Like Water for Chocolate, the 1992 film, Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 to 9 p.m.
- The Body Politic: Women Artists After Frida, Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 to 9 p.m.
- !Women Art Revolution, the 2010 film, Thursday, Dec. 3, 7 to 9 p.m.
All of these happen at the museum, and the Frida Kahlo exhibition page links to each event listing. A Thursday after work can now include the galleries, a film or talk, and dinner, which the old daytime-only schedule didn't allow.
The Free Days Fall on Two Busy Saturdays
The brochure lists two free-admission days this season, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12. Both are Saturdays. Outside those days, admission is $12 for adults and $8 for youth, free for children under 2 and members, and $1 with a qualifying EBT or SNAP card. The museum is closed Thursday, Nov. 26.
Those two dates are already on the City's community events calendar. The City lists the Longmont Turkey Trot on Nov. 14 and Longmont Lights on Dec. 11 and 12. The City's summary listing doesn't give a 2026 course for the Turkey Trot. The Longmont Lights parade is Saturday, Dec. 12, at 5 p.m. downtown, and the City links to a route map on its event page.
On Dec. 12 the museum closes at 5 p.m., the same time the parade starts. That makes it easy to see the galleries for free that afternoon and then head downtown for the floats.
Day of the Dead Fills Late October
The reopening comes one week before the museum's longest-running tradition. The City calls Longmont's Día de Muertos celebration the longest-standing Day of the Dead exhibition and celebration in Colorado. It began in 2001 and draws more than 6,000 people each year. This year's events happen at three locations:
- Day of the Dead Family Celebration, Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free, downtown at 4th Avenue and Kimbark Street. This 26th-anniversary street festival has traditional music and dance, face painting, sugar skull decorating, crafts, food trucks, a kids' play zone, local vendors and a Gigantes Procession.
- Noche de Museo: Celebrating Day of the Dead, Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m., in the museum's Stewart Auditorium. The evening is curated by and features iZCALLi, with ancient Aztecan dance by Grupo Azteca Tlahuitzcalli. Reserved seats cost $23, or $20 for members.
- "Día de Muertos – Remembering is Resistance" at the Firehouse Art Center, 667 Fourth Ave., on view Oct. 9 through Nov. 1, according to the Times-Call's Boulder County art guide.
The museum's Day of the Dead page lists the street festival and the auditorium concert for 2026. It doesn't list an altar display inside the galleries this year. The Kahlo exhibition overlaps the whole Día de Muertos week, so for those two weeks the galleries and the holiday programming tell related stories.
The Season at a Glance
| Date | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Grand Reopening Celebration, free, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Longmont Museum |
| Thu., Oct. 22 | Art & Sip: Floral Crown; ¡Viva la Vida! A Tribute to Frida Kahlo | Longmont Museum |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Day of the Dead Family Celebration, free | 4th Ave. and Kimbark St. |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Noche de Museo, 7 p.m. | Stewart Auditorium |
| Thu., Nov. 5 | Like Water for Chocolate screening | Longmont Museum |
| Thu., Nov. 12 | The Body Politic: Women Artists After Frida | Longmont Museum |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Free museum admission; Longmont Turkey Trot | Museum; Turkey Trot course |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Museum closed | |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | !Women Art Revolution screening | Longmont Museum |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Free museum admission; Longmont Lights parade at 5 p.m. | Museum; downtown |
| Sun., Jan. 24 | Last day of "Women Artists" | Longmont Museum |
| Sun., Jan. 31 | Last day of "Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Portrait" | Longmont Museum |
The City's Plan Your Visit page may still say the galleries are closed for construction. Use the Fall 2026 brochure for current hours until that page is updated.
At Venna Hillman, we pay attention to places like the Longmont Museum because they're part of what people value about living here, and that affects how homes in Longmont are priced. If you'd like to know where your home stands this fall, start with our instant home valuation, and then go see the Kahlo show before it closes Jan. 31.
