Chelsea Flynn is promoted to Grassroots Senior Director of Events; Discovery Marketplace pre-show event sees largest attendance to date.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (April 21, 2026) — As retailers and product vendors prepare for the upcoming Connect outdoor retail buying show in June, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization dedicated to the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail, is reporting continued strong and slightly upward trending attendance by retail buyers and brands, with over 290 exhibitors and more than 150 retailers in attendance between all aspects of the event.
In particular, Discovery Marketplace, a five-hour event on the front end of the show designed to help retailers explore opportunities to work with new brands, is seeing its largest attendance to date with 132 companies participating.
The Spring/Summer Connect Show takes place June 8-11, 2026, in Reno, NV., with both the Grassroots retailer education day and Discovery Marketplace on Sunday, June 7. While Discovery Marketplace offers new and emerging brands the opportunity to show product highlights to specialty retailers, the four-day Connect show focuses on line showings supporting established brand-retailer relationships.
In advance of the June show, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance also promoted Chelsea Flynn to Senior Director of Events. Flynn has worked at Grassroots Outdoor Alliance since May 2023, previously as Director of Events. Her promotion acknowledges her continued growth and oversight of the organization's events and event team.
With registration now largely complete, 157 retailers and 396 retail buyers are registered to attend the show, a slight increase compared to the 2025 Spring Connect show.
On the vendor side, 159 brands will attend Reno Connect during the primary part of the four-day show, compared to 143 at last Spring’s Connect Show.
In all, Connect will provide a forum for 10,956 appointments between retailers and brands, amounting to 8,462 hours of meetings. The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance team has tracked buyer engagement statistics since the organization began pre-scheduling all appointments for retailers and brands in 2016.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with these numbers as we prepare for Spring Connect in Reno. We are constantly striving for balance, and, with an increase in retailer registration and the right mix of brands exhibiting, our team believes we’ve found the sweet spot,” Flynn said. “There is great energy surrounding the show due to new features and enhanced program areas centering our community — the annual awards luncheon, an updated Connect Show app, focused education sessions, inspired morning activities, and cheeky theme days that honor our time in Reno. We’re excited for this Spring’s Connect!”
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance will release more information on its upcoming retailer education component in coming weeks.
About Grassroots Outdoor Alliance
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a retailer-owned network of 105 independently owned outdoor retailers and 73 vendor partners, working together for the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail. Through data collection and analysis, direct member support, specialty events and deep vendor partnerships, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is creating both a vision and roadmap for the long-term success of independent specialty retail. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is recognized as a catalyst for the success of its retailers and vendor partners; an advocate for specialty independent retail; a promoter of education and community within the specialty channel; and a key influencer of the national outdoor industry. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance also operates Connect, a twice-annual legacy show experience that spans four days, offering an efficient and structured format for retailers to conduct pre-season line showings and business conversations.