SHAWNEE, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioKansas, the Kansas organization that unites, unifies, and promotes the Bioscience industry state-wide, is pleased to announce its first annual “Innovation Festival.” This first-of-its-kind event is slated for August 4, 5, and 6, 2022, at Crown Center in Kansas City. This festival, which will draw local and out of town audiences, will help highlight the Kansas City region as a vibrant and welcoming area to live, work, and grow business.
“This has been a long-awaited vision for our organization,” said Sonia Hall, BioKansas CEO for the non-profit. “We want to shake things up and really draw attention to our exciting innovation ecosystem and everything it will bring to our region.”
The event will reveal a collaborative effort to build a biologics hub in the region. This will showcase the strategic plan being developed through a regional partnership with KC Rising, a regional economic development community organization, to grow an inclusive economy. To fulfill this mission, the Innovation Festival will showcase all the exciting innovation happenings throughout the Midwest.
This three-day event will support economic development, personal development, and investment opportunities in the region. It will help recruit early career scientists to work or train in the region. And it will demonstrate how the power of music and visual arts are important for effectively communicating and learning science.
“The three-day Innovation Festival will be grounded in entertainment,” said Hall. “There will be a regional convergence of music, beer, and bioscience. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Among scientific conferences, noted speakers and panel discussions, it will feature well-known national, regional, and local music acts. There will be nine musical performances that include two national headline touring acts, three regional touring acts, and four local acts – all within the alternative indie rock genre. The Innovation Festival will lean into the popularity of local microbreweries and will have some of the area’s top breweries on tap throughout the festival. During the festival, attendees can experience a flight of the featured breweries and taste the biosciences of the Midwest. The festival will include a large number of exhibitor tents featuring innovative companies, job and training opportunities, partners hosting artist meet and greets, and more. These exhibitors will make innovation and art in the region come to life.
Ticket sales for the festival will begin in January 2022. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are available.
About BioKansas: BioKansas is a non-profit organization whose mission is to lead the effort of supporting and growing Kansas’ bioscience ecosystem including bioscience research, commercialization, training, and business development. Through organizational and collaborative efforts they provide meaningful content, connections, and advocacy to advance the state’s bioscience industry. Learn more at www.biokansas.org
