Looking for something?

DIG FAQ OMG!

DIG IT

You’ve seen the announcement, enjoyed the hype, even considered attending. But what exactly is the Denver Immersive Gathering?

Thanks for asking. Because we’d like to answer a bunch of questions about our signature event and invite you to join us.

First, a little background. Immersive Denver was the accidental result of an event held in 2018 called the Denver Immersive Summit. That event was the brainchild of Jenny Filipetti and David Thomas. They were both working at CU Denver and with the arrival of Meow Wolf imminent, they thought it would be neat to get everyone together for a one-day symposium on the Auraria campus. As the sold-out event wrapped up, everyone was asking: When is the next summit?  Safe to say, Jenny and David were still surprised so many people showed up. Even more, they were delighted to discover that Denver had an immersive community. And so, Immersive Denver was born as a small project to help support that community, provide networking and education opportunities, and advocate for immersive art and entertainment.

That background is important because almost five years later, Denver’s immersive community has grown and Immersive Denver is still here, still an informal organization that does what it can to help the community grow and thrive.

The DIG is simply our latest adventure. So, let’s go through some of the questions that might be swirling in your head:

Should I go? Are you an immersive creator, performer, producer, sponsor or consumer? Then yes, you should. Because…

Is this a conference like the Next Stage? No. We think events like the Next Stage or the Immersive Homecoming are great for getting artists on stage to talk about their work. But the DIG is specifically a networking and community building event. Our goal is to provide some big moments—talks, parties and a mini-performance festival—to stir the pot. But the magic of the DIG is going to be meeting people, connecting and building professional relationships. That’s our goal. Fewer talks, more talking to each other.

So, why is it being held in Denver? Because Denver is blowing up as a site for interesting immersive work. And because the Denver creative community is evolving a perfect incubator for this emerging form. Besides, Denver has always been a pioneering town—a place where people get together across different backgrounds to make something new.  The DIG exists to showcase Denver and to share a broad creative story of how you can grow immersive in your community.

Who do you expect will come? We estimate that roughly 1/3 of the attendees will come from out of state and the rest will be from the Denver area. There are people coming in from out of state to learn more about Denver, to see Theater of the Mind and Meow Wolf's Convergence Station and to connect with the local community. Likewise, we anticipate a diverse group of folks from the Mile High region from a variety of backgrounds--from immersive theater, to installations, corporate marketing events and more. Right now, we have sold far more tickets to out of towners than we have to the local community. Which brings up the next question....

Will this sell out? Yes. We only have about 250 tickets available on sale. This number is set by our venue limits. So, there won’t be a second round of tickets. No surprise blocks being held out until the last minute. No hype. No nonsense. If you want to attend the DIG, we encourage you to grab those tickets now. We know, that’s what every event says. But this time it’s true. The demand for the DIG will exceed its capacity. And we don’t want you to miss out.

Is this a big money maker for Immersive Denver? Nope. Not at all. Immersive Denver is a volunteer organization. And we budgeted the DIG to spend what it takes in. Thanks to our sponsors, we can offer these tickets at a significantly reduced rate. Instead of looking at taking a profit, we are trying to bring the cost down to encourage community participation. We don’t want the price to be an issue. So, everything is priced to cover costs.  No backend money grab here.

What about people who can’t afford tickets? We understand that not everyone has the financial means to attend an event like this. We have a block of need-based tickets we will be releasing soon. And we hope to set up a couch surfing exchange for anyone who wants to host or is a starving artist. If you have other needs, let us know. We are committed to making our events as accessible as possible. We will do what we can to make sure the people that want to be here can be.

How’d you get all these big-name sponsors? You know what? We asked. And they said yes because every one of our sponsors believes in immersive in Denver. The DIG is a community event made possible by the community.

Why didn't you invite me to present/perform/etc? First off,  we are still building out the schedule. Our goal is to program the festival and add opportunities for folks to sample all the cool immersive things in Denver. If you have something you think we should add, send us a note at hello@immersivedenver.com But keep in mind, we have constraints around time, space and money. So, at the end of the day, we are going to do our best to program the highest-quality, most diverse collection of immersive-focused events we can. 

How do I help? Buy a ticket and attend! It’s gonna be fun. If you have something you would like to offer the DIG, let us know. We’ll be working on making this an event to remember until it happens.

Um, Covid? Yeah, that’s the big worry. We plan to follow all City of Denver guidelines at the time of the show. We also encourage masks and vaccines, regardless of local ordinance. We will also have a protocol for handling refunds for anyone who might get sick right before the event. We want everyone to be safe and will evolve our approach with the best possible guidance we have.

And that's it. Immersive Denver is a community. We’ll make mistakes. We’ll fix them. We’ll have fun and make a difference. And if you are there, we’ll look forward to having a drink with you.

Cheers, 
Christine and David

In this issue

• Show extensions, a new pop up bar and last chance to see The End
• Big community news with promotions and celebrations and worthwhile fundrasiers
• The monthly happy hour goes to RiNo/Five Points
• And, yes, a show we'd like to see

SHOW WE'D LIKE TO SEE