LEVEL UP! Speaker Series: The Experience Economy

74% of Americans prioritize experiences over products or things. Nationally, it’s estimated that consumers are spending $160 to $180 billion annually on experiences. In 2023, 93.3 million visitors to Colorado spent nearly $28.3 billion experiencing our state.

Welcome to the Experience Economy, an economy where moments matter. This panel will unpack how purpose, creativity, business models, legal, and financing work together to support businesses and entrepreneurs looking to take advantage of this market opportunity. Learn from experience design experts how to bring people together and keep them coming back for more while also harnessing new business models for sustainability and strength. 

Join the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region for its first of three LEVEL UP! Speaker Series Events. The Experience Economy will be held February 7th, 2025 from 8-10 am (with coffee for us early risers!) at the Meanwhile Block (119 S. Costilla St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903). Kick off First Friday by learning from three incredible creative business owners, experience design experts, and game-changers for the creative sector. Registration required, tickets are $10. 

Speakers:

• Frankie Toan // Rainbow Dome // Rainbow Dome’s mission is to steward our collective joy. Based in Denver, Rainbow Dome is a queer-centric hub that gathers people across differences to experience joy-in-motion through art and activities. We are a community venue for roller skating, entertainment, and art. Our vision is a more playful world that values accountability and connectedness.
• Brian Corrigan // Farm-to-Spaceship // BRIAN CORRIGAN is a creative placemaking artist-designer-entrepreneur working at the intersection of the experience economy, technology, and community development. His socially engaged practice spans rural/urban/suburban communities and focuses on sparking and supporting the development of healthy, inclusive, and vibrant neighborhoods for all people. NPR, PBS, Cool Hunting, Springwise, Denver Post, Streetwise, Business Journal, and Dwell Magazine has featured his work. He is an ArtPlace America Grantee, NewCities Global Urban Innovator Finalist, Knight Public Spaces Fellowship Finalist, and an International Award for Public Art Finalist. His projects have been published in Streets Reconsidered: Inclusive Design for the Public Realm and The Digital City: Media and the Social Production of Place. He is the founder of Farm-to-Spaceship, an Experience Economy workforce development accelerator working to ensure the health of our democracy by making everything [more] fun