On the morning of Friday, April 24, 2026, between 9:00 and 11:30 AM, on the second day of Dome Fest West, we did something a more cautious festival might have hesitated to do. We took the agenda away. There was no panel lined up at the front of the room. No keynote. No moderator with a clipboard of pre-vetted questions. Instead, there was a stack of blank index cards, a pile of markers, and one instruction. Write down the question or challenge you most want to talk about. If

Roughly 400 people came through Fiske Planetarium over five days in April. Attendees represented 14 countries. Two screening blocks sold out. And the people who were there left with something harder to measure than a badge scan: new friends, new ideas, and a clearer sense of where this industry is going. Dome Fest West 2026, the 5th Annual, wrapped April 26 in Boulder, Colorado. Here is what happened. Wednesday: Before It Even Started The festival technically opened Thursday.