In 2025, Sundance announced that the festival would be permanently moving from Park City, Utah to Boulder, Colorado, leaving many fans of the long-running festival filled with emotions. “I’m very sad it’s leaving because I’ve done it for so many years,” said Carol Haselton, a volunteer at the 2026 festival.
Haselton has volunteered at Sundance for over fifteen years. She said that the film festival has given her something to look forward to after the holiday season. The festival also filled a hole in Haselton’s schedule as she stopped skiing over the years.
Even though Haselton is sad to see the festival go, other residents have had other reactions to the move. “There are some locals that are happy,” Haselton said. “I have two sons that work in Park City and it’s an annoyance to them because of the traffic. It’s hard for them to get to work.”
Sundance is moving to Boulder due to the lack of available space.
The Sundance Institute stated “Park City, Utah, has been our home. However, in order to produce and continue to grow the Festival, we require more theaters and venues that can support our programming needs.”
Even with the festival moving, some volunteers are considering making the trip to Colorado in order to volunteer at the 2027 festival.
Scott-Jamin Jessop, who goes by the online moniker of Skippy, has attended the festival for 23 years in a row and said he has mixed feelings about the festival’s move. He said he’s loved his time with the festival, but never wanted the festival to feel like an obligation for him to attend.
“I haven’t felt like that but I’ve come close to feeling like that at the end of some Sundances where it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, that was really taxing. Should I go next year?’” Jessop said. “But this way, I don’t have to make that choice, they made it for me, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Jessop said he wonders how he’ll feel next year when the time for Sundance 2027 comes around and it’s no longer near his home. Instead of focusing on it being gone, Jessop said he’s going to use that opportunity to remember the good times.
“Hey, it’s not here. There’s nothing I can do about it. Why don’t I look through old memories and remind myself of how much fun I had?” Jessop said.
Jessop has many memories of meeting celebrities at the festival. Such as the time he met Dave Grohl, the lead singer of the Foo Fighters, that led to him meeting Jack Black later on in California. He said he’s happy for the people of Colorado and their new opportunity to attend the festival in their hometown.
“Somewhere out there is a 24-year-old that might get asked 23 years from now why you went to Sundance, and they’re like, ‘Oh, because it came to my backyard and I started going.’ It was a lot of fun. I’m excited for that person, too,” Jessop said.
Even though Sundance is moving out of Utah, there are still other film festivals available for Utahn’s to attend including the recently started Orem Film Festival, the long-running Utah International Film Festival and the Raindance festival.
