The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is a professional acting company in association with the University of Colorado at Boulder. It was established in 1958, making it one of the oldest such festivals in the United States, and has roots going back to the early 1900s. Each summer, the festival draws about 25,000 patrons to see the works of Shakespeare, as well as classics and contemporary plays, in the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre and indoor University Theatre. In early April 2020, with the uncertainty of the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, CSF cancelled the summer 2020 season altogether.