CENTRAL CITY OPERA 

Central City 

News: The 94th presentation of the Central City Flower Girls got off to its usual booming start, thanks to a perfectly timed dynamite blast that reverberated from an undisclosed location within earshot of the Teller House Garden. 

The window-rattling boom may startle those unfamiliar with the time-honored tradition, but it generates knowing smiles and a smattering of applause from everyone else. 

Once the sound subsides, master of ceremonies Roopesh Aggarwal, vice president/investor relations for Xcel Energy and treasurer of the Central City Opera’s endowment fund board, starts his task of introducing each Flower Girl as she descends the rustic stairway leading to the Teller House Garden.  

The introduction includes the names of each Flower Girl’s parents, grandparents, and escort; families often tied to early-day Coloradans who’ve had pivotal roles in the state’s development. 

For example, Flower Girl Sophia Freyer is descended from John Evans, who in 1862 was appointed territorial governor of Colorado by then-President Abraham Lincoln. Her grandfather, John Evans Freyer Sr., is Land Title’s chairman of the board; her father, John Evans Freyer Jr. is its president. 

Ainsley Rippey is the granddaughter of the late Gordon and Sally Rippey, both of whom were known for their philanthropy and community service. Gordon has served on such boards of directors as Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, The Colorado Trust and Great Outdoors Colorado. In addition, he spent several years as master of ceremonies for the Denver Debutante Ball. Sally had been executive director of the Adolph Coors Foundation and Metro Denver Gives and was instrumental in founding the Junior League of Denver’s thrift shop and the Two Percent Club of Denver, which encouraged for-profit businesses to donate 2% of their profits to nonprofit organizations. 

Elizabeth Sulser’s mother, Marianne Rabalais Sulser, vice-chair of the Denver Botanic Gardens board, is the author of the recently released “Like Snow Before Sun” and is descended from the Acadians expelled from Nova Scotia in the 1750s. 

Leighton O’Shaughnessy’s father, Ryan, is the president of the Denver-based, privately held exploration and production company, Lario Oil & Gas Co. It was founded in 1927 by Ryan’s great-grandfather I.A. O’Shaughnessy, who was dubbed King of the Wildcatters for his bold and highly successful oil exploration. 

Dylan Milo’s grandfather is Tom Marsico, who left Janus Funds to establish the successful investment advisory firm Marsico Capital Management.  

The presentation concluded with Flower Girls and their families dancing on Eureka Street to the Yellow Rose Waltz, a number commissioned by the 1997 Opening Night committee. Afterward, there is a brief performance in Central City’s historic 1878 Opera House and dinner in the Teller House. 

Shannon Mackenzie chaired this fundraiser for the Central City Opera. Christina Dinegar will lead the committee in 2027. 

Others in the Flower Girl Class of 2026 were: 

Vivian Blessing, Elisabeth Burkholder, Kaitlin Derwin, Flora Dollarhide, Ariana Dvorak, Elizabeth Earley, Anna Engles, Brooke Griggy, Abigail Hollis, Nora Lively, Katherine Lynch, Hazel McDonnell, Caroline McKinster, Chloe McKinster, Keaton Miller and Morgan Miller. 

Also, Sloane Moritz, Margot Oravez, Alexa Shulte, Clara Sissel, Heidi Sohn, Sydney Thompson, Elizabeth Vahey, Julia VanSickle, Eden Weisberg and Beatrix Wiedenmayer. 

About the organization: The Central City Opera was founded in 1932 and is the fifth-oldest professional opera company in the United States. The Flower Girl presentation signals the start of the opera company’s heralded Summer Festival and is the occasion to recognize young ladies who, in their junior year of high school, have earned good grades and made appreciable contributions to campus life and community service. From the start, each Flower Girl class has included some of those whose families are descended from early-day Coloradans who helped shape the state’s political, business and economic structure. 

Website: centralcityopera.org 

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