For the 2026 festival in Park City, Utah residents could buy a Locals Ticket Package of 10 tickets for $675, while the general full-festival package cost $920. Boulder gets no equivalent. A Sundance representative named Levine told the Daily Camera that no pass or package is reserved for Boulder or Colorado residents in 2027.
Sundance did design three packages with locals in mind, but anyone could buy them regardless of residency. All three are now sold out on the festival's ticket page: the $350 Matinee, the $450 Second Half and the $675 Encore. So are the $925 Full Festival package and the $275 Ignite package.
For someone who lives here and didn't buy a package, the 2027 festival comes down to two things. The paid part is a single sale on one January morning. The rest is a large free layer, held in buildings across town that most residents already know: a high school auditorium, a library theater, the auditorium at Chautauqua.
The Dates Between Now and February
- December: Sundance announces the film lineup and screening schedule.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m. MT: Free Ignite registration opens for people aged 18 to 25 and enrolled students of any age.
- Tuesday, Jan. 5: Boulder Valley School District says festival impacts at Boulder High and Casey Middle could start as early as this date.
- Thursday, Jan. 7: Package holders start choosing their screenings.
- Friday, Jan. 8, 10 a.m. MT: Single-film tickets go on sale at $37, and Ignite single tickets at $15.
- Thursday, Jan. 21, to Sunday, Jan. 31: The in-person festival. World premieres run Jan. 21 to Jan. 26.
- Thursday, Jan. 28, to Sunday, Jan. 31: The online program.
- Friday, Feb. 5: The latest date BVSD gives for impacts at the two school campuses.
The Paid Door Opens One Day After the Packages Choose
Package holders pick their screenings on Jan. 7, and the general single-ticket sale opens the next morning. That means a casual buyer chooses from whatever screenings are still available after package selection has begun. Levine told the Daily Camera that Sundance strongly recommends package holders assign all their tickets as soon as selection opens.
According to the same Daily Camera guide, seats can still open up later. Package holders who swap their selections can free tickets that reappear on the website, and a package ticket saved unassigned can be used in the waitlist line for a full screening. A waitlist spot does not guarantee a seat.
Ignite is the cheapest way in for anyone who qualifies. It covers anyone aged 18 to 25, student or not, and enrolled students of any age, so it also applies to adult learners. A $15 Ignite ticket requires the free registration that opens Dec. 8, and discounted tickets are available while supplies last. CU Boulder students have one more option. Under the university's agreement with Sundance, at least two on-campus screenings will be free to students, with registration posted on CU's Sundance events page.
Most of the Festival Doesn't Need a Ticket
Without a film ticket, there is still a lot to attend. Sundance told the Daily Camera that most Offscreen events, including festival talks and conversations, will be free and seated first come, first seated. Some New Frontier programs, which deal with art, film and new technology, will also be free, and sponsors and partners are planning free talks and events of their own.
The talks happen in places residents can walk into on an ordinary Tuesday. The Canyon Theater at the Boulder Public Library's main branch and Old Main on the CU campus are programming venues, not screening theaters. The Dairy Arts Center and eTown Hall host talks as well as screenings. At Old Main, the festival's Legacy program includes a two-session Cinema Interruptus discussion of Memento.
Chautauqua will also host something outside the festival program. For all 11 days, Scouted Colorado will run a market in Chautauqua's Community House, across the green from the Auditorium, with more than 35 Colorado businesses, makers and brands. It was created in partnership with Colorado Chautauqua, and its organizers describe it as an independent marketplace rather than an official Sundance event.
The Venues Are Buildings Boulder Already Uses
Sundance describes its venues as fitting within roughly a two-mile radius: downtown near Pearl Street, CU Boulder, the area around the Dairy Arts Center, 29th Street and Chautauqua. This is the full list from Visit Boulder's venue directory:
| Venue | Address | Festival role |
|---|---|---|
| Boedecker Cinema and Gordon Gamm Theater, Dairy Arts Center | 2590 Walnut St. | Screenings and talks |
| Boulder Theater | 2032 14th St. | Screenings |
| eTown Hall | 1535 Spruce St. | Screenings and talks |
| Boulder High School Auditorium | 1604 Arapahoe Ave. | Screenings |
| Casey Middle School Auditorium | 1301 High St. | Screenings |
| Chautauqua Auditorium | 100 Morning Glory Dr. | Screenings |
| Cinemark Century Boulder | 1700 29th St. | Screenings |
| Macky Auditorium, CU Boulder | 1595 Pleasant Ave. | Screenings |
| Muenzinger Auditorium, CU Boulder | 1905 Colorado Ave. | Screenings |
| Roe Green Theatre, CU Boulder | 1515 Central Campus Mall | Screenings |
| Canyon Theater, Boulder Public Library | 1001 Arapahoe Ave. | Talks and programming |
| Old Main, CU Boulder | 1600 Pleasant St. | Talks and programming |
Using these buildings has effects beyond screening days. BVSD says Boulder High and Casey Middle will stay open and run as normally as possible. Families should still expect heavier traffic, restricted access to some campus spaces, limited parking and some changes to after-school activities, events and athletics. The district expects the heaviest impact during the week the festival begins and during the festival itself.
CU Boulder says it has no plans to change class times or teaching formats, and its centrally controlled classrooms will not be rented to the festival. The library's Canyon Theater is not taking reservations for 2027. Its booking page says so, but that is not an announcement about the Main Library's public hours. At the Auditorium, Colorado Chautauqua's festival FAQ says the festival itself handles tickets, schedules and access.
Getting Around Will Cost Less Than Usual
For people who stay in town, the biggest change to daily life may be the buses. RTD's Oct. 22 release makes four routes fare-free from Jan. 21 to 31, with longer hours on each:
- BOLT, Boulder to Longmont: 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
- JUMP, along Arapahoe: 5:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays, 6:15 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends
- SKIP, along Broadway: more frequent service, 5:15 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends
- CHAT, a temporary new route to Chautauqua Park: every 10 minutes, 8 a.m. to midnight
The City adds the HOP to that list. Visit Boulder's festival FAQ also lists free HOP service and up to 5,000 free shared e-bike passes from the City of Boulder. That makes five free local routes during the festival.
The Flatiron Flyer to Denver's Union Station keeps its regular fare but will run until 2 a.m. RTD will also stage extra buses on the AB and AL SkyRide airport routes, which charge their usual fares too. Boulder's festival transportation guide asks visitors to park once and then use frequent local service, and notes that most festival venues have no parking of their own. For a baseline, the City's standard downtown on-street rates have been $2.00 to $3.50 an hour since Jan. 2, 2026, enforced 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with Sundays free.
For a resident without a package, the festival has three key dates: Dec. 8 to register for Ignite if you qualify, the December lineup to plan which free talks to attend, and 10 a.m. on Jan. 8 for a $37 seat.
I've lived in Boulder since 1979, and the Sundance festival is a new kind of January for this town. Whether you're working out the January school schedule, planning a cheap way to get between venues, or wondering how a festival this size fits into the neighborhood around you, I'm glad to talk it through. Timothy Spong is here when you'd like to connect.
