theCOtoberfest 2018
theCOtoberfest is theCO’s biggest celebration in the year, and is a time where the community can come enjoy the good things happening at theCO. As theCO has evolved, theCOtoberfest has changed with it, and every year more and more makers and artists get to showcase their talents. This year will include makers demos, a film festival, booths, games, and more!
Check out the information below to learn more about the event, and how to get involved!
What is theCOtoberfest?
theCOtoberfest is a festival for makers, creatives, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts--a weekend of events for the curious, hardworking and inventive among us-- young and old!
When and where is theCOtoberfest?
October 19-20 at theCO
Schedule
Film Festival with Gourmet Popcorn Bar 7pm - 9pm
Maker Demos, CO.STARTERS Showcase & more 2pm - 7pm
#JacksonFamous Pitch Palooza 5:30pm - 7pm
Event Details
Friday October 19th:
At this year’s #theCOtoberfest, join us for our first-ever film festival featuring original short films. Get to know more about each filmmaker’s process in our panel discussion following the screenings, and don’t forget to fill up at our gourmet popcorn bar! Have a film you’d like to show? Head here: https://filmfreeway.com/theCOtoberfestFilmFestival
Saturday October 20th:
#theCOtoberfest is all about celebrating each and every kind of person theCO connects with, and Saturday’s activities will be perfect for entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, and makers of all ages. Check out some of our own CO:members’ creations from our makerspace, share your business dreams at our Fortune 500 Teller booth, and check out some out-of-this-world technology on theLab, one of our Driving Innovation buses.
CO.STARTERS Showcase
If you’ve been around theCO before, you’re sure to have heard of our CO.STARTERS program equipping entrepreneurs with all they need to see their business ideas actualized. At this year’s #theCOtoberfest, we’re eager to showcase some of our past participant’s finest work and let you know how you can be a part of what they’re doing.
#JacksonFamous Pitch Palooza
How fast can a crazy business idea be formed? Find out at #theCOtoberfest’s first-ever #JacksonFamous Pitch Palooza. Eight local “celebrities” go head-to-head in our Pitch It game, coming up with their best solutions to crazy market needs. (Think trying to sell hair dryers to gardeners, lunchboxes to lawyers, jewelry to construction workers, etc.)
We’ll do this bracket style with head-to-head competitions-- stay tuned for the list of who’s participating so you can come cheer on your favorites. The bracket will be posted closer to the competition.
The competition begins at 5:30pm, and part of determining the winner will be an audience vote.
How can you get involved?
Maker Demos
The maker movement is not only a celebration of building and creativity, it’s sharing all of those methods of making with our community. The Maker Demos will showcase the work of all kinds and ages of makers-- they’re embracing the do-it-yourself (or do-it together) spirit.
The demos are meant to be interactive glimpses of the projects happening in our community. They answer the question-- how do you do that cool thing you do? We'd also love for some of the exhibits to have elements that fest attendees could participate in and we're open to how that would work.
If you are interested in running a maker demo, click here to learn more information.
Film Festival
Since this is our very first event we're focusing on short films that are max 15 min and looking for family-friendly content.
We're looking for West Tennessee filmmakers but the films themselves don't have to have been made locally. And we'd love for the filmmaker to be present for a panel discussion at the event.
We'll evaluate your film just to be sure it will be a good fit and be in touch with you soon about participating!
You can submit short films here.