Record attendance projected for 2019 TENWEST Impact Festival
Attendees encouraged to “discover their role” in the Tucson community through ten days of exhibitions, talks, and interactive experiences from national experts and local heroes.
September 20, 2019 (Tucson, Arizona) via Storyteller PR — Startup Tucson’s TENWEST Impact Festival returns October 11-20, with ten days of exhibitions, talks, and interactive experiences from national experts and local heroes. The festival, along with its strategic partnerships with the University of Arizona and others, seeks to stimulate growth and talent retention in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Organizers project a staggering 10,000 attendees–double the number from last year’s event.
“Recent news and poll numbers have Tucsonans asking a lot of good questions about how we can attract and retain talent in Tucson,” said Liz Pocock, CEO of Startup Tucson. “With the support of over 65 local and regional partners, we’re seeking to address these challenges by expanding TENWEST into a catalyst for growth.”
The TENWEST Impact Festival aims to promote and foster a culture of innovation and sustainability in Tucson by hosting and partnering with a series of events that drive education, interaction and big ideas. The goal is to bring together committed community organizations, artists, innovators, and stakeholders in order to present a unified and diverse platform that celebrates Tucson’s creative arts and business ecosystem.
This year, support for TENWEST Impact Festival comes courtesy of University of Arizona and Arizona Commerce Authority as presenting sponsors, alongside Visit Tucson, Cox, and new support from Hexagon and Pima Community College. TENWEST will host a variety of local experts, as well as speakers from nationally recognized companies like Pixar and Techstars.
“We are excited to announce to the community that the University of Arizona has made a long-term commitment to support the TENWEST Festival,” said President Robbins of the University of Arizona. “Not only do we whole-heartedly believe in the vision and mission of this community-driven impact effort, but we also see the incredible economic, social, and cultural impact that this festival can have for Tucson. The festival creates the perfect platform for visionary individuals and organizations to come together, learn, connect, and be inspired by one another while working to solve our region’s biggest problems. We value that TENWEST places an equal emphasis on the arts, sciences, and social impact fields because these are the pillars that sets Tucson apart.”
The festival runs October 11-20 at multiple venues throughout downtown Tucson, with six of the ten days held at the Tucson Convention Center. The Festival is comprised of free, general admission and add-on events. Attendees can also access any of the educational programming with a General Festival Pass costing $35 pre-sale (September 11 - October 6) and $50 the week-of (starting October 7).
This year’s festival includes a diverse spectrum of programming, focus on solutions for creating social, environmental, and economic impact. Each day focuses on a different theme, with highlights that include:
October 11: Building Innovative Cities Conference
- Presented by Mayor Rothschild and featuring the Mayor’s Symposium and Break-out sessions with mayors and experts from across the country in the areas of urban innovation and smart cities.
October 14: Sustainability & Social Impact Summit
- Designed for social impact and non-profit professionals, sustainability champions, advocates, students and faculty with keynote speaker Hannah Davis, CEO of Bangs Shoes.
October 15: Creative Conference: Momentum 2.0
- A full-day conference designed for artists, cultural non-profits, creative professionals, makers and creative entrepreneurs, featuring keynote speaker Marc Folk from Toledo Arts Community.
October 17: IdeaFunding Conference
- Including micro-workshops, expert presentations and one-on-one consultative sessions for entrepreneurs, featuring keynote speaker Allie Burns, CEO of Village Capital. The conference concludes with the IdeaFunding Pitch Competition Shark-Tank Style with a grand prize of $25,000.
October 18: The 4th Industrial Revolution and You
- Designed for industry professionals and faculty, technologists, futurists, students and community leaders with tracks that include: Space, Mining, Built Environment, Living Systems, 4IR Innovations.
Free community partner events include Tucson Meet Yourself, Arizona Insect Festival and a three-night VR, pyrotechnic, acrobatic celebration with Flam Chen at MSA Annex.
For more information on tickets, visit: tenwest.com/tickets/
For a full schedule of events, visit: tenwest.com/schedule-overview/
ABOUT
Startup Tucson is a nonprofit organization working to grow a strong, vibrant startup ecosystem of companies, entrepreneurs, and talent in Tucson. For more information, visit startuptucson.com
CONTACT:
Laura Reese
Storyteller PR
562.652.5306
laura@storytellerpr.com