By Jim Carchidi
January 27, 2026
The downtown skyline will backdrop a weekend of spectacles and surprises during Immerse 2026, Feb. 20-22. Presented by Creative City Project, in partnership with the City of Orlando and AdventHealth, the festival will mark its 11th year of filling 10 city blocks with performances and experiences by more than 100 arts groups.
A creative city
A daytime fireworks show over Lake Eola was part of the Immerse 2025 event lineup. Photos courtesy of Creative City Project
Orlando's cultural diversity is displayed in performances by local dance troupes.
Creative City Project began promoting Orlando artists in 2012 by arranging public performances and installations in the downtown area. The effort grew into a nonprofit organization dedicated to showcasing the Central Florida arts community.
Founder and executive director Cole NeSmith also produces multi-sensory experiences, including the Dazzling Nights holiday production at Leu Gardens, through his production firm, The Memoir Agency. He describes Immerse preparations as an “all-the-time process” of assessing the changing cultural and artistic landscape.
“Just knowing who is emerging and what exciting things are out there that we could bring to the festival,” he said.
Emerging and established talent
A range of genres, techiques and disciplines are represented in the stage performances and fine art displays.
Blue Man Group will perform selections from their show at ICON Park.
Architects of Air will open their inflatable, lighted environments to the public beginning on Thursday, Feb. 5. Reservations will be available on the Immerse website.
One of the emergent arts groups playing a major role in this year’s production is MESH: a West Palm Beach-based performance troupe that blends dance, acrobatics and theatrical elements. They produced a smaller performance for Immerse 2025, but were asked to return this year as a featured act.
“They filled the stage with dancers and musicians and fog and lights and fire,” NeSmith said of the 2025 MESH performance. “It was so high-energy and so fun I was like, ‘we gotta do more with this group.’”
The list of returning headliners also includes:
- Architects of Air: Creators of inflatable, lighted environments called Luminariums that will open at Seneff Arts Plaza by Dr. Phillips Center for reserved time slots running on select days, Feb. 5-23.
- Orlando Vocal Collective: Founded by performer and Immerse contributor, Chris Keough, the production company will perform sets based on the work of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
- Blue Man Group: The popular performance troupe will present selections from its ICON Park stage show.
- Cirque du Soleil: Presenting performances from the Drawn to Life production at Disney Springs.
Additionally, about 70 arts groups will participate for the first-time and 10 painting demonstrations will range from an interactive graffiti room to a paint-by-numbers display.
Join the show
Immerse takes over several streets in the downtown area with Orange Avenue closed during performance times between Anderson Street and Central Boulevard. The full event schedule and list of performers goes live during the week of Feb. 2. General admission is free but four ticketed options are available with a dining experience, presented with a surrounding performance on the Orange Avenue event stage.
For tickets, updates, and the full event schedule, log onto immersefest.com.
Sponsor: The Orlando Real is sponsored by the Pozek Group — the #1 real estate team in Orlando and the Official Real Estate Team of the Orlando Magic.
About the Author
Jim Carchidi is an Orlando journalist and photographer with previous work at the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando Business Journal. He covers development, arts, culture, and local stories for The Orlando Real.
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