The Thin Air Innovation Festival returns to Park City for its second year from April 5-7. Part educational summit, part networking opportunity, this think-tank conference aims to bring business leaders from around the country to Park City each spring as the ski season winds down. This year’s conference theme focuses on high-performance leadership strategies with more than 40 business leaders offering presentations and panel discussions. Opening Night of the festival kicks off at the DeJoria Center and concludes with a massive concert on Main Street, which is open to the public.

Conceived by the Park City Chamber/Bureau as a means of bringing people to town as crowds at the resorts thin, Thin Air is still in its infancy, but organizers are optimistic about the festival’s potential. “We were thrilled at the response generated by last year’s Innovation Festival,” notes Bill Malone, CEO of Park City Chamber of Commerce. “Bringing a diverse set of business leaders together to share best practices in a creative environment breaks down the every-day routine and opens inspiring channels that challenge norms,” he continues.

If you attended Thin Air last year, you can expect a few changes for this year's event. Rather than taking up the entire day with seminars, sessions are scheduled to allow participants the time to enjoy the things to love about Park City, including spring skiing. This year's venues, include O.P. Rockwell and Santy Auditorium, are all located closer to Main Street and within walking distance of one another; a factor that organizers believe will make this year's Thin Air experience better for guests. The hope then is that these favorable experiences will, in turn, lead to more organizations and businesses sending groups to participate in future Thin Air events. 

While Thin Air is predominantly aimed at national and even international business leaders rather than locals, anyone is welcome to participate. The All-In pass ($500) provides access to the entire festival, including the Opening Event, all break out sessions, and admission to the Thin Air Lounge. Tickets to the Opening Night event only are $125 and Thin Air Lounge day-passes are priced at $85 per day.

Even if you’re not keen on attending the panel sessions, you should definitely attend two free events presented as part of Thin Air: the closing night concert on Main Street and a screening of Death by Design, sponsored by the Park City Film Series.

Death By Design Screening

Death By Design will be screened on Thursday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jim Santy Auditorium in the Park City Library. This thought-provoking documentary examines the consequences of our insatiable appetite for electronics. From smartphones to laptops, tablets, and game consoles, consumer electronics have revolutionized communication, give us access to instant information, and nonstop entertainment. But at what price? Filmmaker Sue Williams investigates the dark underbelly of the electronics industry and the disastrous environmental and health consequences from secretive factories in China, a ravaged New York community, and the Silicon Valley.

Keeping with the theme Thin Air, the screening will be followed by a Q&A with Dr. Brain Moench from the Salt Lake City-based Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. Wine and beer will also be available for purchase. 

Finale Concert on Main Street

The conclusion of the Thin Air will take place on Main Street with an outdoor concert put on in collaboration with both Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort on April 7. Headlining the concert is the band Magic! And the circus-themed band March Fourth. The concert is from 6-10 p.m. on lower Main Street, which is free and open to the public, is a great way to close off both the Thin Air festival and the ski season.