There’s adventure—and then there’s Knoxville adventure. The kind you can stumble into five minutes from downtown, where trailheads meet river bends and rocky overlooks. This evening and all day tomorrow (May 2–3), Knoxville’s outdoor epicenter will be the inaugural Outlandish Adventure Festival.
Hosted by Ijams Nature Center, Outlandish AF’s mission is to bring Knoxville’s myriad adventure communities together to celebrate the outdoors. Whatever your scene—trail runs, climbing, bikes, boats, bird watching—you’ll find something to hike, ride or paddle your way into. Get adventurous yourself or just sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds.
“We brought up the idea of throwing a showcase of all the different outdoor opportunities and groups in the immediate Knoxville area,” says Jon Terry, owner of Knoxville Adventure Collective. “The goal was to make a festival that was approachable for everyone, from beginners to experts, in a family-friendly environment—and to keep people engaged and entertained throughout the day.”
“Knoxville has become an outdoor recreation hub,” says Wes Soward, the City of Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness Coordinator. “Building on that momentum, the festival will be a time to share and celebrate the great outdoor resources that we have in our community and offer some new experiences to those who may be looking for fresh ways to engage the outdoors. Even if you just come to hang out, visit with vendors, watch one of the spectacle events or listen to music, there will be something that speaks to everyone.”
Festival highlights include …
Extreme Spectacles: Witness high slacklining over the quarry, bike whip-off stunts, rock climbing competition, kayak flatwater freestyle, SUP sprint races and fire dancing with Circus Under the Moon.
Interactive Activities: Try paddleboard yoga, biking, a guided hike, bird watching, trail running, kayaking or forest bathing. There’s a slackline workshop and kid-friendly activities from animal encounters and storytelling to fort-building and mud play.
Local Food Trucks, Vendors & Maker Tents: Stroll through vendor tents featuring outdoor brands and sport as well as food trucks and a beer trailer. Discover sustainable and nature-centric artistry by local makers inspired by Knoxville’s outdoor culture.
Live Music: Enjoy performances by Day & Age, FERD, The Late Shifters, Good Guy Collective, High Heat, School of Rock, French Toast, Mal Nombre, Drums Up Guns Down.
Film Screenings & Roundtables: A Paddling Film Festival takes place Friday evening following a kickoff group float on the river. Movies will be screening indoors throughout the festival. Saturday roundtables include “Women Who Send It: Breaking Barriers in the Outdoors,” “Knoxville’s Climbing History,” and “Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness: Trails, Tales and Transformation.”
Check out a full schedule of events here.
Outlandish AF came together thanks to a powerhouse volunteer committee and community partners including AMBC, City of Knoxville, Ijams, Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness, Knoxville Adventure Collective, Legacy Parks, River Sports, The Maker City and Visit Knoxville. Knoxville Entrepreneur Center COO Courtney Hendricks stepped up to “drive the train,” as Terry puts it.
Knoxville loves a festival, and the community partners wanted Outlandish AF to have its own flavor. “We wanted it to have lots of spectacle events. So it’s not just getting outside and interacting, it’s getting outside and seeing wild things that you might not see on a normal day to day in the outdoors in this area,” Hendricks says.
Ijams emerged as the perfect venue with its diversity of outdoor spaces and natural amenities: connecting greenways and trails, access points to both the quarry and the river, kids’ play area and a natural amphitheater. They also have ample event experience. Sarah Brobst, Ijams’ visitor services director, says, “We were really excited to be brought to the table for this and to be able to host this inaugural event. We want people to fall in love with the great outdoors and not just fall in love with it but make it part of their daily life.”
Legacy Parks executive director Carol Evans adds, “We have incredible natural assets in Knoxville and Outlandish is a great event to discover those great places and meet other great people who you’d love to get out and play with!”
“We are really excited about the inaugural Outlandish Festival,” says Kim Bumpas, president of Visit Knoxville. “Knoxville’s outdoor offerings play a major role in visitation to our destination, and we’re pleased to partner with so many great local organizations to put on an event that caters to nature lovers of all kinds.”
All those nature lovers have different love languages, too. For instance: the maker component, which dovetails so well with the fix-it, build-it, grow-it mentality that thrives in outdoor culture. Anne Templeton, The Maker City’s director of maker initiatives, describes the festival as “a collaborative effort among organizations and individuals who experience Knoxville’s outdoor life in diverse and meaningful ways. Our goal was to highlight Knoxville’s creativity and invite everyone to come curious—and come ready to shop, sip and support the local scene.”
The festival is FREE, with the exception of some competition entry fees and admission to the Paddling Film Festival. Proceeds go toward supporting local outdoor resources.
Attendees are encouraged to bike in via greenways. A shuttle will also run between the Tennessee School for the Deaf and the Ijams Visitor Center.
Forecast looking iffy? The festival runs rain or shine. Check Outlandish’s Facebook and Instagram for updates. As Terry puts it, “God willing and if the creek don’t rise too much, we will have an outlandish time.”
For more information, visit the Outlandish AF website here.