5 things to know about IMMERSE 2026

ORLANDO, Fla. — IMMERSE is like an arts playground where you and your family can get as interactive as you want. With 160 artists and organizations applying, the bar is high.

1. Creative City Project began in 2012 as a group of artists performing on street corners and in plazas around downtown Orlando. The event was renamed IMMERSE at the beginning of 2017.
2. IMMERSE kicks off in a few days, meaning 10 Orlando city blocks will be peppered with interactives, engagements, attractions and experiences.
3. Cole NeSmith is the founder. “It really is that embodiment of how art brings people and culture together,” he said.
4. Cole gave a tour of around Architects of Air. It’s an impossible-to-miss inflatable attraction set up on the Seneff Arts Plaza in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. A British arts organization created the walk-through inflatable structures that are “kind of modeled after stained glass in a cathedral.”
5. IMMERSE and its multi-sensory arts playground runs this Friday, Feb. 20, through Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Most of IMMERSE — presented by AdventHealth — remains free and open to the public, but some of the experiences are ticketed.