Last year, not long after taking the director reins of Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, Conor Hall got to talking about a big idea.

He had an event in mind. Something that would be different from Outdoor Retailer, the industry’s largest gathering that in 2022 announced ending a five-year run in Denver in favor of a move back to Salt Lake City.

The idea went beyond the brands, manufacturers, retailers and media that represented at Outdoor Retailer — beyond just the latest gear and business-to-business dealing. Hall talked about something that invited consumers, advocates, athletes and everyday enthusiasts. Something that incorporated music, movies, food and exhibits, blending business with education and entertainment.

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Something, Hall said, “like a South by Southwest for the outdoor industry.”

That something is officially in the works.

In a vision shared by Hall’s office, Visit Denver and Boulder-based Outside Inc., the Outside Festival is slated to launch in 2024.

The plan is the weekend of May 31 at Denver’s Civic Center Park, said Jon Dorn, Outside’s chief entertainment officer overseeing the company’s TV and audio networks as well as events.

Dorn laid out a vision of several “zones” populating the park Friday through Sunday. Zones for adventure travel, for health and wellness, for hiking and biking and skiing, zones where one might test a climbing wall or learn a new campfire recipe.

Various nonprofits will set up at a “village area,” Dorn said — organizations plugged into hot button issues the festival aims to take on, including sustainability and equity.

Those could be topics of panel discussions indoors. Dorn said the weekend would also incorporate the McNichols Civic Center Building, where short films will run, speakers will take to stages and the traditional business-to-business side of the event will play out. That will be in partnership with the Big Gear Show, which hosted tradespeople this summer in Denver.

That show’s organizer, Kenji Haroutunian, said the Outside Festival is the model the industry has been missing.

“We’ve got to have a central rally point, just like every great pro team or high school has to have a rally before their big game,” Haroutunian said. “We’ve got to have a big rally at least once a year to get ourselves motivated, to stay in the game and keep the energy high.”

The Big Gear Show tried with a consumer expo in June. Haroutunian said about 1,000 people showed up — well short of a goal closer to 5,000.

“The spectacle is what we were missing,” Haroutunian said.

Enter plans for the Outside Festival: Organizers are angling for a feature film premier Friday night, followed by a concert Saturday night, what Dorn envisioned as “the pinnacle moment” of the weekend.

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“We’re working with a prominent talent agency that has done Lollapalooza and all the big festivals to bring in big-name musical talent,” Dorn said.

But organizers are taming expectations for what they’re calling a first-of-its-kind event.

“In terms of tickets, what we can have at Civic Center Park, we’re thinking 6,000 to 10,000 (people) a day,” Hall said. “Our goal would be to grow to 50,000 a day.”

The goal, Dorn said, is a “hub and spoke” concept, where downtown Denver serves as the festival center while attractions sprout at venues like Red Rocks Amphitheatre and beyond — in cities across the Front Range and iconic mountain towns.

“We can call it what it is: It’s a big, wild, ambitious goal to create the gathering place for the industry,” Hall said. “It’s not going to be that right away.”

It’s going to take the industry buying in, Dorn said.

On top of $50,000 for an initial feasibility study, the Colorado Economic Development Commission has pledged $390,000 to the event. Going forward, “the vast majority will be private funding,” Hall said.

Dorn said ticket prices — as low as $15 — would reflect a goal to maximize attendance rather than maximize revenues. Sponsorships would be key, Dorn said, adding to what he called “a significant, seven-figure investment” on Outside’s end.

“We’re putting a lot of skin in the game as a company to make this happen,” he said.

That, he said, is for the potential Outside sees. Hall said state leadership was on the same page.

“The governor is excited about the idea and willing to take a risk on something like this for the potential good that it could have for Colorado,” he said.

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