Key Takeaways:
- Outdoor Retailer 2026 opens Wednesday, Aug. 19 at the Minneapolis Convention Center with a full Education Day before the expo floor opens Thursday.
- More than 275 exhibitors and 550 retail buyers are expected, both above the show’s original targets, alongside more than 150 Wild Reach creators with a combined audience of more than 15 million followers.
- Industry Day runs Wednesday afternoon with four sessions and a closing keynote from Mirna Valerio, and the expo floor closes for good at 3 p.m. Friday.
Outdoor Retailer 2026 opens this week in Minneapolis, and after months of buildup around a redesigned show format, new activations, and a new host city, it is time to see how it all comes together. More than 275 exhibitors and 550 retail buyers are expected, both above the show’s original targets. Here is a day-by-day look at what is on the schedule.
Wednesday, Aug. 19: Education Day
The show gets underway Wednesday with a full day of programming before a single booth opens on the expo floor.
The morning runs two tracks simultaneously.
The Retailer Playbook Lab opens at 8 a.m. with remarks and networking from Lightspeed and NuORDER, followed by eight workshops for specialty retailers running in Rooms 201 and 202 through noon, covering:
- Inclusive merchandising
- Resale programs
- Wage models
- Cybersecurity
- Social media
- Small business insurance
- Event planning
- AI tools
At the same time, the Ascent Summit for founders of independent and specialty brands runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 200E, in partnership with Garage Grown Gear and Founded Outdoors, and includes a tour of Garage Grown Gear’s St. Paul headquarters.
A Playbook Lab keynote luncheon on new brand discovery, featuring Eoin Comerford, former CEO of Moosejaw and host of the Outdoor Unfiltered podcast, follows at 12:15 p.m. in Room 200C.
Industry Day takes over the afternoon in Room 200C, running four sessions from 1:30 to 4:15 p.m.:
- A debate on the future of independent specialty retail, with Mike Massey, Neil Fiske, Brendan Madigan and Dana Caraway
- A session on Gen Z and women consumers, with Kristin Hostetter, Sara Lawhead, Jamie Kvamme and Nadah Feteih
- A look at wearable tech and innovation, with Peter Sachs, Lucy Dunne, Dustin English and Kristoffer Stokes
- A session on AI and the circular economy, with Peter Whitcomb, Barruch Ben-Zekry, Aaron Provine and Ramiro Gomez
A break provided by FINN Partners follows at 4:15 p.m. The closing keynote at 4:45 p.m. features endurance athlete, author and advocate Mirna Valerio on belonging.
An Industry Day Happy Hour provided by Lightspeed and the Save the Boundary Waters Rally both run at 5:15 p.m. in the first floor lobby by registration. The evening closes with Slow Roll Minneapolis at 6 p.m., a guided community bike ride ending in a chef-prepared meal, open by RSVP.
Thursday, Aug. 20: Expo Hall Opens
The expo floor opens Thursday with more than 275 exhibitors across seven neighborhoods: Camp & Hike, Lifestyle, Ascent, Water, Run & Cycle, the GGG & Founded Outdoors Pavilion, and Stewardship. One of the most visible additions to the floor this year is REI Co-op’s Path Ahead Ventures, which is showcasing products from more than 25 founder-led brands near the registration area. Attendees will vote for one brand to receive a complimentary booth at OR 2027. More than 70 additional young brands are taking part through the Ascent Program, connecting new brands with retailers and media.
Guided urban outdoor experiences at Theodore Wirth Park, including hiking, trail running, and paddling, run 7 to 10 a.m. with round-trip shuttle service from the convention center. The Opening Ceremony follows at 9:45 a.m. in the Hall B Lobby, presented on behalf of the Mille Lacs All Veterans Group, Color Guard and Band of Ojibwe.
Expo hall hours run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Camp stage runs sessions throughout the day, opening at 10 a.m. with a keynote on retail and consumer trends from Matt Tucker of Circana. Additional sessions include:
- The beginner as the industry’s greatest growth opportunity, with Mandela Echefu
- An inventory strategy session with Lightspeed and NuORDER
- A session on brand-retailer partnerships
- A 1 p.m. panel on the future of outdoor media featuring Stephen Regenold of Gear Junkie, Mark Baumgarten of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Thruhikers duo and Adam Roy of Backpacker
- A 2 p.m. session on brands operating as media companies, with panelists from Osprey, Outdoorsy, Gnara, Backcountry and Teva
- A 3 p.m. legal briefing from Ballard Spahr attorneys
The Camp Happy Hour, sponsored by Ballard Spahr with support from Paddling Magazine, closes out Camp Stage programming at 4 p.m.
Elsewhere on the floor, the OR Playground hosts a Recess Happy Hour with ping pong and cornhole at 1:30 p.m. at Booth 209, and the GGG & Founded Outdoors Pavilion runs a livestream with My Life Outdoors at 11 a.m. and an interview on the direction of outdoor media at 4 p.m.
The day closes with the Meet Minneapolis Welcome Reception at 5 p.m. on The Camp Stage, followed by the Outdoor Retailer Industry Party at 6 p.m., hosted with Popfly, Basecamp Outdoors and Backcountry. Badge and RSVP required.
Friday, Aug. 21: Last Day
The final day opens at 7 a.m. with the Adventure Race hosted by 57hours at Theodore Wirth Park, open to creators, media, retailers and industry leaders by RSVP.
The Camp stage opens at 10 a.m. with a keynote on circular innovation from Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop. Sessions that follow include:
- 11 a.m.: A panel on nonprofit partnerships as business strategy, with Tom Vogl, Anthony Taylor and Mark Deming
- 12 p.m.: Graduate students from Western Colorado University’s Outdoor Industry MBA program present research on what Gen Z wants from outdoor brands
- 1 p.m.: Popfly founder and CEO Taylor Hoekstra moderates a panel on the evolving outdoor marketing playbook with creators Renee and Tim of Thruhikers, Nadah Feteih and Xavier Abdullahi
- 2 p.m.: A University of Minnesota Wearable Technology Lab session on student-designed backcountry apparel, closing out Camp Stage programming
At The Campsite in the GGG & Founded Outdoors Pavilion, Lindsay Hubley, senior vice president of Emerald’s sports and outdoor division, sits down at 11 a.m. for an interview on Outdoor Retailer’s story and roadmap, followed by an interview with Brogan Graham at 1 p.m. on building community, both hosted by Garage Grown Gear founder Lloyd Vogel.
The expo hall closes for good at 3 p.m.
Wild Reach and the Bigger Picture
This year’s show also marks the debut of the Wild Reach Initiative, powered by Popfly, which brings more than 150 curated outdoor creators onto the show floor across all three days with a combined audience of more than 15 million followers. Creators were matched with participating exhibitors ahead of the show, arriving in Minneapolis with established relationships and content plans already in place.
“We’re meeting the industry where it is today, investing in real launch infrastructure for new and discovery brands, strengthening the independent specialty community that has always been the backbone of this industry, and doing it in a timeframe where buyers arrive with clarity and a real need to find the outdoor industry’s next top seller,” said Lindsay Hubley, Senior Vice President of Emerald’s Sports and Outdoor Division. “We are fueling the future.”
