TENWEST returns to make an impact

TENWEST Impact Festival is an exchange of ideas, among entrepreneurs, tech innovators, students, educators, writers, visual artists, community leaders and musicians.

Founded in 2015 by Startup Tucson and produced by Ranch House Media each November, this year’s iteration runs from Saturday, Nov. 4, to Friday, Nov. 10.

“It’s an impact festival,” said Matt Baquet, lead producer.

“Oftentimes, you will see innovation conferences. We like to call it an impact festival, because it has a little bit of something for everyone.”

Unique in its cross-industry approach, TENWEST unites attendees to gain the knowledge and inspiration they need to innovate within their own careers and communities. The weeklong event welcomes thousands of diverse attendees to participate in a multiday conference, Street Fest, nightly xEvents and numerous partner events and experiences.

The centerpiece is its conference from Tuesday, Nov. 7, to Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Tucson Convention Center.

This year, the keynote speakers include Alexandra Rosen from GoDaddy; Dante Lauretta from OSIRIS-Rex; Erin Boyd from Culdesac in Tempe; Joe O’Connell from Creative Machines; Shalin Jyotishi from Forbes and New America, and Lakeysha Hallmon from the Village Market.

“We’ve got some really exciting keynotes this year who we’re really excited to introduce to the community, get their stories told and hopefully inspire some of the crowd,” Baquet said.

The conference’s centerpiece is the IdeaFunding Pitch Competition, in which entrepreneurs present their ideas in a similar style as the TV show “Shark Tank.”

More than $70,000 in prizes will be awarded.

The pitch competition will have a mainstage event, as well as categories focused on areas such as food and social impact.

Baquet said companies from Arizona and Mexico will participate this year.

“We are definitely trying to expand the reach into Phoenix and also into Sonora, Mexico. We have a lot of participants from both at this year’s festival,” Baquet said.

During the three-day conference, participants will take part in breakout sessions on topics such as AI, workforce and economic development, media, arts, music, marketing, investing and leadership.

The conference is broken down into the categories of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

“Between those three, we really highlight a lot of different industries and talent from the area,” Baquet said.

An open call for submissions led to new participants in this year’s event.

“This event is meant to inspire and connect, and by being as open as we are, we find cool ways to not only connect with new people ourselves but to connect those who are participating in the conference,” Baquet said.

Baquet said the event has evolved to have more of a regional focus.

“It was started to offer something similar to South by Southwest to the Southern Arizona region,” Baquet said.

“It definitely was tech and start-ups as the focus. It has taken its own form. I think it’s much more uniquely Arizona and the Sonoran Desert. Although we have similarities to a conference like that, we tailor this event towards what’s going on in the community here.”

The week of festivities will also include after-parties, a street festival and concerts.

TENWEST will kick off on Saturday, Nov. 4, with the free community TENWEST Street Fest at Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street.

It will feature more than 100 local food and artisan vendors, live music and DJs, street busker performances, a “Galactic Glam” fashion show, family-friendly activities such as giant games and an interactive neighborhood art project.

The beautification project will be led by Living Streets Alliance, and attendees can contribute to a community mural.

“Anyone can come with their kids, grab a paint brush and help create that street mural, which will be really cool. I’m really proud that we can leave the neighborhood that we are shutting down for the street festival better than when we found it,” Baquet said.

The music/DJ lineup will include Street Blues Family, Carlos Arzate, The Senators, Simple Pete, The Carnivaleros, Desert Music Project, Oms, DJ Humblelianess, DJ Mijito and DJ Bex.

The fashion show, which is hosted by Sonoran Stitch Factory, will feature DJed music and pieces by seven designers.

Baquet said more family-friendly activities have been added to the Street Fest, with the hope that more families come out this year.

“With our street festival, a grandma could bring all of her grandchildren and have plenty to do,” Baquet said.

“That’s the range we are looking for, because a lot of us are parents, and we want to create experiences for everyone in Tucson, not just the professional network.”

TENWEST continues on Sunday, Nov. 5, with an All Souls Procession pre-party at Corbett’s and after-party at the MSA Annex. The pre-party will have music from the instrumental trio Hey, Bucko!, and the after-party will feature MarchFourth, a group with acrobatics, a horn section and a drumline.

On Monday, Nov. 6, Mega Mixer is scheduled at JoJo’s, where conference participants can network. This event will include partnering organizations such as the Tucson Metro, Marana, Greater Oro Valley, Tucson LGBT and Tucson Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, along with Local First Arizona, the Better Business Bureau and Tucson Young Professionals.

“That’s going to be a nice communal way to launch the conference,” Baquet said.

After the IdeaFunding Pitch Competition on Nov. 9, attendees may continue their discussions and unwind at an after-party at the Owls Club.

The series of events will close on Friday, Nov. 10, with TENWEST Unwind, a brunch and yoga session at Playground.

There will also be TENWEST concerts featuring Parsons Dance at Centennial Hall on Nov. 5, Noah Gundersen at 191 Toole on Nov. 7, and Jenny and the Mexicats and Silvana Estrada at Hotel Congress on Nov. 8.

Some of these musicians, including Gundersen, will take part in the conference.

Baquet said although the nighttime events are meant to be fun and social, he expects that conference participants will continue to have lively conversations in the evening.

“The nighttime stuff is more about just coming together, celebrating and being together, and I imagine that people who connected during the conference will continue those conversations in the evening,” Baquet said.

All-access passes grant participants admission to the conference plus all TENWEST affiliate events.

General admission passes include admission to the Mega Mixer, conference, the IdeaFunding after-party and the brunch. All additional tickets to TENWEST events can be purchased through the venues.