The two-day event aims to highlight Colorado’s $62 billion outdoor recreation industry after the Outdoor Retailer left the city in 2022.
A new, large outdoor recreation festival is coming to Denver in June, Gov. Jared Polis announced.
The two-day Outside Festival highlighting Colorado’s outdoor recreation industry will be hosted at Civic Center Park from June 1-2. It’s the city’s newest event for outdoor recreation after the industry’s largest trade show, Outdoor Retailer, left Denver in 2022 to go back to Salt Lake City. Outside Festival is set to feature new outdoor gear, live music, adventure films, speakers, activities and exhibits.
“The Outside Festival will be a celebration of outdoor recreation and help grow this important part of our economy and lifestyle, while introducing more Coloradans to the benefits of spending time outside,” Polis said in the news release.
The festival is in partnership with the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, tourism agency Visit Denver and media company Outside Inc. The Denver Economic Development Council approved $440,000 for the event, according to the governor’s office.
Outdoor recreation generates $62 billion and 18% of the workforce for the state economy, according to Conor Hall, the director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office.
“For the first time, the Outside Festival will bring together industry professionals and thought leaders with the general public to showcase Colorado’s unparalleled outdoor recreation industry and our commitment to making it accessible to everyone,” Hall said in the release.
Hall has been working on the Outside Festival after the Outdoor Retailer’s five-year stint in Denver ended.
He told the Denver Gazette in November that the event will be like a “South by Southwest for the outdoor industry.” It’s set to mix the business aspect of the Outdoor Retailer with more entertainment and education.
Read the full article in the Colorado Springs Gazette by clicking here.