We’ve made it to the last stretch of cold weather, according to everyone’s favorite rodent meteorologists, Chuck and Phil, who both declared the early arrival of spring. The unofficial end of winter also means the unofficial end of awards season as we head into St. Patrick’s Day festivities, including the world’s oldest civilian parade. Plus, the boys of summer are back — with their new see-through uniforms in tow.
Keep reading for experiential inspiration from the biggest happenings coming in March — and check out how XP Land XLISTERS are involved in everything from household names like the Oscars and SXSW to a first-of-its-kind design salon at Paris Fashion Week.
AWARDS
ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards: March 7, Los Angeles
Now in its 17th year, the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards will celebrate notable figures including Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Kathryn Busby and Nkechi Okoro Carroll. Hosted by Method Man, the event aims to honor Black women’s achievements in film and television, especially amidst the challenges of last year’s writers’ and actors’ strikes. The ceremony, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, will emphasize the theme “Radiant Power,” highlighting the resilience and influence of Black women in the industry.
The Academy Awards: March 10; Los Angeles
The Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel — and directed by XLISTER Hamish Hamilton — will air live on ABC on March 10th from its usual home, the Dolby Theatre, bringing the 2024 awards season to a close. Oppenheimer, the three-hour historical drama directed by Christopher Nolan, is Oscar catnip, but viewers will also have the chance to watch the stars from Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro and Poor Things, among others.
FESTIVALS
SXSW: March 8-16; Austin, TX
After spending some time down under for the first annual SXSW Sydney, the 41st annual conference and festival is back home in Austin beginning the second week of March. Helmed by XLISTER Hugh Forrest, SXSW will include everything from independent film screenings and live AI experiences to panels discussing psychedelics and climate change (and much, much more).
As the XP Land team gears up for our annual Texas migration, we’ve put together a list of can’t-miss panels, gatherings and activations for the ultimate experiential guide to SXSW 2024. Expect plenty of brand activations, too, including a full-scale carnival by podcast giant Audible, Variety’s comedy showcase and a four-day music festival from Rolling Stone.
Treefort Music Festival: March 20-24; Boise, ID
The 12th annual Treefort Music Festival — founded by XLISTER Eric Gilbert — will kick off in Boise on March 20th. With multiple stages and venues across the city, Treefort gets its name from the “forts,” or genre-specific tracks, within the larger festival. And it’s way more than just music this year.
2024’s Comedyfort will feature Marc Maron; Hackfort will have competitions and workshops dedicated to cyberspace; and Dragfort will include drag queen performances, brunches and talks. To further immerse attendees in the spirit of Boise, Foodfort and Alefort will offer craft drinks and regional favorites, such as finger steaks and huckleberry everything, from local restaurants and breweries.
CULTURAL EVENTS
The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade: March 17; New York
The NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade — celebrated every year in the city since 1762 — is the world’s oldest and largest parade of its kind. Honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, the event marches up Manhattan’s Fifth Ave. and draws approximately two million spectators and 150,000 annual participants. Impressively, the parade is run entirely by volunteers, including many generations of dedicated families.
CONFERENCES
Imagine Solutions Conference: March 4; Naples, FL
AI artist and XLISTER Refik Anadol headed to the Imagine Solutions Conference as one of 18 speakers to take the stage. This year’s conference, themed “Unlike.Any.Other,” celebrated all things disruption and innovation. This description is fitting for Anadol — his generative work has covered the facades of skyscrapers and been featured at Christie’s auction house, a one-man show at MOMA and the Grammy Awards — has sparked debate in the art world, with some critics questioning his works’ data-driven nature and others praising its reflection on modernism.
SPORTS
AEW Revolution: March 3; Greensboro, NC
Whether pro wrestling is your passion or this is your first time immersing yourself in the world of ringside finishers, the AEW (co-owned by XLISTER Tony Khan) puts on shows full of bright lights, neon-pink spandex and intricate storylines. AEW Revolution is one of the four major Pay-Per-View events from the promotion, and this year legendary wrestler Sting retired after his match. Revolution sold over 13,000 tickets in just the first week of sales, prompting the AEW to alter seating arrangements to increase capacity.
Major League Baseball Opening Day: March 28; Various locations
For the second year in a row, all 30 MLB clubs will play on opening day following the league’s stint overseas for the 2024 MLB World Tour: Seoul Series in South Korea. And Asia isn’t the only new territory for the MLB. This season, the league will host its first game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL, a historic Negro Leagues field that opened in 1910. The MLB’s recent efforts to honor baseball history have surged attendance, and the Rickwood Field game celebrates the game’s heritage while coinciding with the release of a new documentary on the Negro Leagues.
Netflix Slam: March 3; Las Vegas
Netflix live-streamed “The Netflix Slam” — an exhibition tennis match between Spanish pros Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — as its second live sports event, following the success of “The Netflix Cup,” a crossover competition between F1 drivers and professional golfers. The Slam was rescheduled due to previous player injuries and adjusted for European prime time, highlighting Netflix’s ambition to expand into live sports broadcasting. The match took place at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and featured commentary and play-by-play analysis by Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Jim Courier, Mary Joe Fernández and Patrick McEnroe.
ATTRACTIONS
Terror Vault: The Initiation by Into the Dark: March 1-2; San Francisco
This immersive theatrical haunt show, put on by Bay Area production companies Into the Dark and Terror Vault, pays homage to San Francisco’s eerie history of cults and mystery. The experience replicates an initiation into the fictitious cult INsight; visitors don costumes and attempt to “gain membership” as they move through two floors of the San Francisco Mint, furnished with 23 different set designs and populated by 50 terrifyingly ghoulish actors.
MATTER and SHAPE Design Salon: March 1-4; Paris
Creative director, designer and XLISTER Willo Perron designed the salon MATTER and SHAPE, which will welcome designers and brands from all over the world — including Alessi, BD Barcelona, Jil Sander and Perfumer H — for a launch event March 1-4 during Paris Fashion Week. Willo packed the light-filled space with a café, bookstore, design boutique and even a restaurant in collaboration with the French culinary team WE ARE ONA.
Chaotic Singles Party LA: March 17; Los Angeles
XLISTER Cassidy Davis is bringing her singles who mingle extravaganza back to LA on March 17th. Hundreds of singles will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Davis’s monthly party to connect, play games, dance, and get to know each other. It’s an environment ideal for making sparks fly. The rules of entry are simple: be single, be chaotic.
“Heart Strings” by UNICEF: March 22-April 7; Various locations
Produced by UNICEF and created by Moment Factory (including Multimedia Director, Show Director and XLISTER Benjamin Dupont), “Heart Strings” is a multisensory journey across six interactive zones, where visitors work together to create a collaborative song made up of global children’s voices. The journey begins in Houston on March 22nd, followed by visits to Atlanta, Boston and Chicago.
Each zone features stories of children worldwide, using interactive multimedia installations with educational content, videos, light effects and resonant sound. There’s the Heart Beats zone, where visitors add their heartbeat to the rhythm of the song; Living Lyrics, where they help write the song’s lyrics; and Voices of Power, where they add their voices to the chorus.
THEATER
Queen of Hearts by Company XIV: Opens March 1; New York
Immersive burlesque troupe Company XIV, known for their one-of-a-kind show Cocktail Magique and created by XLISTER Austin McCormick, just launched their latest show, Queen of Hearts. The experience, “a baroque, burlesque adventure in Wonderland,” is a tantalizing ode to Lewis Carroll’s classic tale of Alice in Wonderland. Attendees can expect a combination of opera, circus arts, burlesque, classical dance and decadent set design to take them down the rabbit hole.
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