In recognition of the many interests, values and activities shared between attendees of the Sundance Film Festival and Outdoor Retailer (OR), the outdoor industry trade show recently became an “Institute Associate” of the world-renowned independent film festival.
The two events run with some concurrent dates (Outdoor Retailer: Jan. 19-22 and Sundance Film Festival: Jan. 19-29) and share Salt Lake City as a host city for the trade show and some of the film festival's multi-city events and screenings.
“At Outdoor Retailer, we operate in a lifestyle industry where participants are passionate about being in the outdoors and protecting its splendor for recreation and the enjoyment of future generations,” said Kenji Haroutunian, vice president at Nielsen Expositions and OR show director. “Our formal support for the Sundance Film Festival is a natural extension of OR Rocks!, where we deliberately seek to celebrate the music, art and films that resonate with the culture and values of outdoor-minded businesses, and consumers.”
As an Institute Associate, Outdoor Retailer will provide year-round support for the Sundance Institute. At the Festival, Outdoor Retailer will operate the “Innovation Gallery by Outdoor Retailer” gallery and event space located on Main Street in Park City. The space will be designed with the involvement of a handful of industry manufacturers to help share the emerging technologies and history of the outdoor industry. It will be open for browsing during the entire Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 19-29 in Park City, and will also be used as a post-premiere party venue for select films.
Films selected for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival that OR participants may find especially interesting include “Chasing Ice,” directed by Jeff Orlowski; “Finding North,” directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush; “The Other Dream Team,” directed by Marius Markevicius, and many more. For a full list of outdoor-specific films screening at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, go to Outdoor Retailer's OR Rocks! webpage. Interested attendees are encouraged to secure their tickets as soon as possible, due to the popularity and limited availability of tickets.
Outdoor industry veteran Liz Ferrin played a key role in facilitating the Outdoor Retailer/Sundance Film Festival agreement and is curating the event space. Founded in 2011, Liz Ferrin Productions brings together artists, brands and properties to create unique partnerships and compelling content. LFP, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., specializes in marketing, event planning, and production services.
“Liz is the perfect person to facilitate Outdoor Retailer's first-ever presentation to the Sundance audience,” said Haroutunian. “She has a clear grasp of the outdoor industry culture and values, is well connected in the film industry and maintains a strong vision of how this relationship will equally benefit our event attendees.”
Retailers and trade members of the outdoor industry interested in registering for Winter Market can review registration requirements here.
About Outdoor Retailer
Outdoor Retailer (OR) brings together retailers, manufacturers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation through tradeshows, product demo events and web-based business solutions. Produced by Nielsen Expositions and based in San Juan Capistrano, California, Outdoor Retailer also provides and promotes retailer education, advocacy, responsibility and critical face-to-face business initiatives within the outdoor industry.
Now celebrating more than 30 years, Outdoor Retailer (www.outdoorretailer.com) connects approximately 46,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Summer and Winter Market shows, and thousands more through its year-round online resources and platforms.
