Meet Sara Vaas | Founder, Chief Relationship Architect

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Vaas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, what matters most to you?
Belonging.

I come back to it again and again—whether I’m designing an event, building a partnership, or just chatting with a neighbor on the porch.

When people feel like they belong, they show up more fully. They take risks, they care more, they connect. It’s not just a warm fuzzy feeling; it’s a powerful condition for creativity, trust, and change.

Belonging doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built through invitation, intention, and making sure every detail says, “You matter here.” That’s the kind of world I want to help create—one gathering, one relationship, one unexpected moment at a time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is making really beautiful experiences for people.

I love the way spaces feel and I think i’m always trying to matchmake the perfect things to go in a space – the band, the decor, other thematic elements – and of course WHO is there! When strangers start talking like best friends – that’s my paycheck.

I care deeply about how people feel (honestly, probably a bit too much) and how details flow. I want to feel the electricity of an amazing night, but the bathrooms have to be clean too!

Getting here wasn’t a straight line linear. Initially, I just did this to feed my own jazz habit and tip my hat to my grandpa. I’ve worn a lot of hats from nonprofit leader and community organizer, to more recently marketing consultant and advocate for Colorado Springs to be the happiest, healthiest city in the world.

I’ve had some wins and bombed a few things, and in the end learned that valuing myself and trusting my intuition is just as powerful as taking action (if not more).

Dizzy Charlie’s was about jazz, now it’s bigger. It’s unfolding to answer the question – how does life improve when we live lives authentically connected to the people around us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A Week in the Westside: Dizzy Charlie’s Edition

If my best friend was visiting Colorado Springs, we wouldn’t just see the city—we’d feel it. And we’d spend the week weaving through the rhythm of Old Colorado City, Ivywild, and Manitou Springs with good people, better tunes, and zero tourist traps.

Here’s how we’d do it:

Monday – Start with Story
Ease in with a slow morning at Story Coffee in Old Colorado City. It’s small, but the espresso is dialed in and the patio always seems to have my favorite neighbors catching up with each other. Grab a croissant, and sit without your phone for 20 minutes at least.

Tuesday – Dizzy Charlie’s in the Park
Tuesdays are for Bancroft Park, where Dizzy Charlie’s lights up the heart of OCC with our free summer concert series. Think local bands, dancing toddlers, neighbors in lawn chairs, and family core-memory formation

Wednesday – Jam Night at Ivywild
We pregame at Bar 33—a low-key gem with expert cocktails and bartenders who remember your name. Then it’s on to The Axe and the Oak Whiskey House inside Ivywild School for Unrehearsed, our Dizzy Charlie’s inner circle cats playing like it’s mom’s garage. It’s part concert, part experiment, all magic. Musicians just show up, plug in, and follow the groove wherever it goes. Jazz as it was meant to be.

Thursday – Hike & Hotel Bar Combo
We earn our happy hour with a morning hike on Section 16 – a local’s loop through scrub oak, red rock, and wildflowers, with sweeping views of the Front Range. After a trail snack and a dusty high-five, we clean up and head to the Mining Exchange Hotel downtown. The lobby bar is a sleeper hit for quiet, grown-up hangs with craft drinks and that fancy-hotel-feels-chill vibe.

Friday – Rooftop Cheers
Time to blow off the week with a pint at OCC Brewing, where the beer is brewed on-site and the rooftop patio gives you front row seats to the sunset and mountain views. It’s casual, neighborly, you can’t beat the beer or the views.

Saturday – Soak & Stroll in Manitou
We’re doing it slow and restorative today with a day pass at SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs. Picture cedar tubs filled with mineral water, tucked into a hillside, steam rising as you look out at Pikes Peak. No schedule, just soft robes and mountain air.

Sunday – Bluegrass & BBQ
We wrap the week where we started: under the sky, with good music. Front Range Barbeque hosts live bluegrass on the patio every Sunday afternoon, and it’s exactly what your soul ordered. Smoked meats, cold drinks, a mandolin solo cutting through the breeze. You’ll forget what day it is. That’s the point.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve got to shout out the neighborhood dreamers – the people who show up with folding chairs, snacks, and turn an event announcement into something REAL.

The jazz educator that brings his students to our shows, or the my friends at the city who quietly move mountains to make permits happen, or the grandma who’s always first to dance.

I’ve learned so much from people who don’t need a title to lead or permission to create joy.

They remind me that community truly isn’t top down and doing something magical first requires two ears.

Website: https://dizzycharlies.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dizzycharlies/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-vaas-31518272/

Twitter: https://x.com/DizzyCharlies

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089696508057

Image Credits
Studio Alti