2023 Forward Festival Preview

by Taylor Kennedy

Forward Fest

The 14th annual Forward Festival will take place Aug. 21-25, continuing its five-day condensed format, at various locations in the Greater Madison area.

The festival features approximately 40 events with nearly a dozen new event organizers.

“As we celebrate another year of Forward Festival, it continues to evolve and expand,” Laura Strong, festival board member and vice president of strategy and healthcare at DataChat Inc., said in a statement. “We’re excited to have so many new local organizations be a part of this experience. Beyond tech and venture capital, we even span into food, music, sports and now gaming/e-sports.”

This year, the festival is expanding into new areas such as gaming and e-sports with the Power Up Wisconsin Gaming & E-Sports Summit on Aug. 25 and in new locations such as Stoughton, which will host the “Cut the Confusion Out of Your Advertising Decision” event on Aug. 22.

Meanwhile, staples such as the Badger Startup Summit (Aug. 21), Pressure Chamber (Aug. 22) and Doyenne’s 5x5x5 (Aug. 23) are returning.

As in years past, the festival will conclude with the Rooftop Social, hosted by Capital Entrepreneurs, on Aug. 25 at the Urban Land Interests (ULI) building.