ROBB WOULFE, THE Executive and Artistic Director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, will be stepping down from his role to take up a new post in Colorado. He will become the new Chief Executive Officer of cultural arts for the city of Breckenridge, Colorado, starting January 2014.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, guiding it through a period of growth and change,” said Woulfe. “Ann Arbor residents are lucky to live in such a vibrant community, rich with arts and culture.”

The Summer Festival was 1984-born. Last year’s attendance was some 70,000 popcorn-eating, music-listening, Festy goers. Despite the rosy numbers, the Summer Festival is having something of a mid-life crisis.

Its fund-line is receding, and its bulging attendee base isn’t as flush as it once was. What to do? It reinvents itself in an effort to recapture that cool-person vibe. It revamps its appearance, piling new programming on top of the old and brings in shiny, fun toys (like the gigantic luminarium). It feels hip and modern and hopes that attendees will perceive it that same way.

Some snickered at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s attempts to reinvigorate itself; others were drawn in by its new look. Either way, the Festival’s Director, Robb Woulfe, was confident in his abilities to put a fresh face on the middle-aged local institutions that are Top of the Park and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.

It was a tough act. The Summer Festival ended up in the red in 2011, 2012 and 2013. This year’s festival was plagued by rain and 17 performances ended up canceled.

Woulfe was recruited to the Colorado position. In Breckenridge, he will oversee the formation of a new nonprofit organization, chartered to develop and advance the cultural arts vision and strategic plan for Breckenridge. Woulfe will be responsible for expanding programming, building and improving cultural facilities, and cultivating the town’s new arts district to market and promote tourism to this Rocky Mountain resort destination.

According to a press release from the Summer Festival, “Robb’s stewardship of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival since 2004 has transformed the festival’s scale and influence, elevating it to one of the leading multi-arts festivals in the country. Key accomplishments during his tenure include: relocating Top of the Park to Ingalls Mall, introducing large-scale outdoor spectacles and popular family attractions to the annual program, developing collaborative partnerships with local artists and cultural organizations, expanding the organization’s base of support and strengthening its financial position, and producing some of the most successful seasons in the festival’s thirty-year history.”

Amy Nesbitt, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s associate director and general manager, will succeed Woulfe as interim executive director.

Mike Dubin, chairman of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s board of trustees said: “Although we’re sorry to see Robb leave, I cannot think of anyone more qualified to take over the reins than Amy Nesbitt.”

Dubin also thanked Robb Woulfe for his service.

“We thank Robb for giving our community many great memories during his tenure, and we congratulate Amy in her new role as she leads us into what promises to be a great 2014 season.”