Civic Center Park played host to a larger-than-usual presence of round sunglasses, canvas caps and handlebar mustaches on Saturday.

The second annual Outside Festival took over the park for the last weekend of May, bringing music, films and presentations — as well as different vendors and activities for both children and adults to enjoy.

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The presentations included a wide variety of speakers, including Magician David Blaine, Olympian Diana Nyad and climber Alex Honnold. Artists such as Lord Huron and Trampled by Turtles played on a stage in front of the Denver City and County Building.

Festival organizers expected over 25,000 people to be in attendance this year, a significant uptick from the 18,000 at the first iteration last year, said Jessica McGee, director of marketing for Outside. This year’s festival is 40% bigger than last year’s, featuring more vendors and more space.

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“The mission at Outside is to get people outside,” McGee said. “Essentially what we’re trying to do here is tap this broader consumer who’s interested in all these things. Maybe they’re just coming to see the music but they’re getting to experience what the outdoors are.”

Produced by Boulder-based Outside Inc., the organization that owns Outside Magazine, the festival is taking place just months after over 30 of the magazine’s longtime contributors asked to be taken off the publication’s masthead in response to company layoffs that included a number of its longtime editorial leadership, according to a letter written to Outside Inc. CEO Robin Thurston and posted on Instagram by Grayson Schaffer, a former senior editor and staff writer.

“Outside was once one of the greatest magazines on the face of the earth,” the letter reads. “That all changed when you and your droids descended on the scene. Now, in your idiom, magazines are ‘properties.’ Editors are ’employees.’ Higher ranking editors are ‘managers.’ Writers are ‘content creators.’ And stories are merely ‘content.'”

The post notes Thurston purchased the magazine in 2021, and says that since then the publication has gone from its adventurous roots into “a crass and soulless purveyor of gear, nothing more.” 

The outdoors company REI, who co-sponsored the festival, did not respond to a request for comment.

The planning process for the festival was not impacted by the magazine’s fallout, McGee said.

“Everyone has been super excited to come, for the most part,” McGee said. “All the speakers are excited to be a part of this and really agree with the overall mission of getting people out there, spreading the vibe of the outdoors and getting consumers and outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy community together and gather in one place.”

In addition to the speakers, films and music, the festival also featured over 100 brand partners in the park, McGee said, with sellers ranging from food trucks to pop-up tents for clothing brands such as Black Diamond and Columbia as well as others featuring camera drones and adventure travel packages. The vendors, McGee said, are mostly organizations Outside sought out for the festival and align with the goal of getting people outdoors.

Festivalgoers acknowledged that the event seemed designed to promote the outdoors as a product. Many, including Guy Barnhart, sitting at a picnic table in the shade with his daughter, Jude, said that they enjoyed the experience. Barnhart said that it was good value for the price of admission.

“It’s nice to see Outside as an organization trying to make the outdoor industry essentially almost like an entertainment component,” Barnhart said. “It’s cool for the kids. Last year, we came up with a group of friends with kids and we were here for like eight hours.”

Ultimately, Barnhart said, his biggest complaint was that they couldn’t find Jude any snow cones.