If we could put together a dream gathering for the outdoor community, what would it look like?
That was the big question that a team at Outside asked a couple years ago. Now we are thrilled to have the answer: the Outside Festival. This June 1-2 in Denver’s Civic Center Park we are hosting a one-of-a-kind event that mashes up incredible live music, gripping adventure films, provocative speakers, outdoor sports competitions and skills clinics, and the latest outdoor gear. We can’t wait for it to start—and we really hope you’ll join us.
We also want you to understand what we’re hoping to achieve. Our goal is to create the definitive annual gathering celebrating outdoor culture. That’s why we partnered with The State of Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and Visit Denver to build so many different elements into the Outside Festival. We want this to be an inclusive space where we can all turn away from our screens and reconnect with ourselves, each other, and nature. And we believe that Civic Center Park offers an ideal venue to mix the spirit of outdoor adventure with the rhythm and art of urban life.
We started with music because of its unique power to bring people together, and we are delighted to be featuring a diverse lineup of headline acts: Fleet Foxes, Thundercat, Andrew Bird, Lettuce, Say She She, and The Heavy Heavy. In the coming weeks, we’ll be announcing additional artists that will invite an even broader range of sounds and styles to our main stage.
From the moment we began imagining the Outside Festival into existence, we knew we had to bring together a collection of inspiring personalities—the kinds of exceptional athletes, adventurers, and changemakers that motivate all of us to think bigger and do more to improve the health of people and the planet. That vision led us to build a dynamic lineup of speakers that features ultra-competitors like record-breaking swimmer Diana Nyad and champion climber Sasha Digiulian, gifted storytellers like wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant and filmmaker and photographer Cory Richards, and passionate activists like Native climate justice advocate and fashion model Quannah ChasingHorse and Protect Our Winters founder Jeremy Jones.
There has been an explosion of incredible documentaries about outdoor sports and culture in recent years, so we partnered with Telluride’s Mountainfilm Festival, the Boulder International Film Festival, and the Mountains of Color Film Festival to curate a riveting selection of adventure films that will spotlight a new wave of outdoor leaders.
We also wanted to offer opportunities for deeper learning at the festival, which led us to collaborate with outdoor industry partners to craft a series of to-be-announced conversations with innovators and thought leaders. These sessions will enable industry professionals to share and explore effective strategies for creating a more inclusive and sustainable future for brands and consumers.
By design, the Outside Festival will compel attendees to get active. The festival grounds will include a climbing wall from The North Face featuring elite athletes competing, as well as an accessible climbing wall from Adaptive Adventures for individuals with physical disabilities. You’ll also find yoga and wellness experiences, kid-focused activities from Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science (the festival is free for kids 12 and under), and tons more throughout the weekend.
And, of course, we wanted to showcase the best new outdoor gear. We’ll have demos and editor recommendations, along with the latest findings from the Outside Lab @ CU Denver, a state-of-the-art gear testing facility.
Across the Outside Festival, we are taking steps to minimize our environmental impact. This includes a commitment to avoiding single-use plastic. Through a partnership with r.Cup, every beverage purchase will be served in a reusable cup, which will be collected, sanitized, and put back into use. We’re encouraging attendees to bring their own bottle or hydration bladder, and we’ll have cool water refill stations across Civic Center Park. We’re also working with food vendors who prioritize plant-based, locally-sourced delectables and serve them on plastic-free, compostable servingware, which we will collect and deliver to local composting facilities.
Ultimately, we believe the Outside Festival can serve as a rallying point for the outdoor community—a celebratory space where we will find a deeper level of joy and purpose in our relationships to the outdoors.
If that sounds like your kind of happening, check out our growing lineup, find out how you can participate, and buy your tickets now at theoutsidefestival.com.