At Goat Patch Brewing Co., you’ll find expected sights for a brewery: a chalkboard showing what’s on tap, a variety of brews being sipped and all kinds of people, and dogs.
If it’s a Thursday, you’ll find something else.
At the bar or at some tables, you’ll find patrons drinking a beer while holding crayons or colorful markers. Some seem serious about their creation, while others pass around the pages to make a silly masterpiece with their pals.
This is what happens at Therapeutic Thursdays, the brewery’s long-running adult coloring night. Goat Patch started the weekly event in 2017, shortly after the coloring-isn’t-just-for-kids craze began.
The coloring nights previously turned into a competition, with bartenders judging finished pages and declaring winners.
“Now, it’s just come in and color,” said Averee Davis, the brewery’s social media and events coordinator.
A stack of books awaits on the bar, letting patrons choose between pages depicting farting unicorns or swear words or one book called “The People of Walmart.”
Coloring tools are provided and some people bring in their own cases of special markers.
Unlike other events at Goat Patch, such as trivia night or music video bingo, coloring nights are so casual that those unfamiliar with the event might not know it was going on. But the event also draws longtime regulars.
“It’s a way to get stress out,” Davis said. “It’s a way to turn your mind off while still being creative.”
The trend took off in 2015 — Nielsen Bookscan estimated that 12 million coloring books were sold that year. But the presence of adult coloring books, classes and online groups eventually slowed down. Around the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when self-care activities were in high demand, adult coloring books turned another page into popularity.
Adult coloring books can be found at Poor Richard’s Bookstore in downtown Colorado Springs. An online search shows options like “A Colorado Springs Coloring Book For Adults” and a coronavirus-themed swear word coloring book.
Davis said Goat Patch has continued the weekly Therapeutic Thursdays for the last several years because it adds variety to the brewery’s lineup.
Events include live music, weekend yoga, charity nights and crafty workshops.
“We’re always looking to do things other places don’t do,” Davis said.
It appears Goat Patch is one of the only options in Colorado Springs for adult coloring nights. Davis said she has seen more interest in recent months, as people look for ways to get out and about while the pandemic continues on.
“It gives you a creative outlet that is also stress free,” she said. “It’s beer and coloring. What could be better?”