Homesteading • Outdoor Skills • Preparedness • Sustainability
Learn the Skills That Matter. Build the Life That Lasts.
Learn to thrive—Not just survive
The Thrive Self-Reliance Summit is a premier in-person gathering for people who refuse to be unprepared, disconnected, or dependent. This immersive event brings together homesteaders, outdoor skill practitioners, preparedness-minded families, sustainability advocates, and industry leaders for hands-on education, real-world solutions, and powerful community.
Featuring music from—
August 22-23, 2026
What Is the Thrive Self-Reliance Summit?
Thrive is built on four foundational pillars of modern self-reliance — skills that work together to create true independence and resilience.
🛠️ Preparedness
Emergency readiness, first aid, communications, food storage, and mindset.
🧭 Outdoor Skills
Bushcraft, navigation, firecraft, foraging, and wilderness readiness that reconnect skill to confidence.
♻️ Sustainability
Off-grid systems, renewable energy, water independence, and resilient living solutions that endure.
🌱 Homesteading
Grow food, preserve harvests, steward land, raise animals, and build long-term food security.
Together, these pillars support one goal: a capable, prepared, thriving life.
Who Thrive Is For
- Homesteaders and aspiring land stewards
- Preparedness-minded individuals and families
- Outdoor skill practitioners and bushcrafters
- Sustainability advocates and off-grid builders
- Educators, makers, and skill-based businesses
At Thrive, you’ll gain:
- Actionable skills you can use immediately
- Hands-on demonstrations from trusted experts
- Direct access to high-quality gear and resources
- A community that shares your values
Boothside Demonstrations
Sourdough for Your Food Storage with Millie Copper
Millie Copper brings you food wisdom from her years of off-grid living experience and in this class, you will learn a great way to utilize your stored wheat and other grains. Discover how to catch and maintain your own wild yeast (sourdough) starter and how to make simple no-knead biscuits. No oven is needed for this tasty off-grid option. The class is suitable for both beginners and those already familiar with sourdough. Bring a jar, and you can take a starter home with you.
Sprouts For Your Food Storage with Millie Copper
Whether you’re just getting started with sprouts or want to expand how you use them, this class is for you. You’ll learn how to grow and enjoy them with ease. Sprouts are an easy, cheap, and tasty addition to your food storage system. They require little space and can be grown without any special equipment.
Discover how to grow and care for a variety of sprouts from different seeds, grains, and legumes, and why they’re an important part of a gut-healthy lifestyle. By the end of the class, you’ll understand how to incorporate sprouts into your food storage.
Seminars
Preparing for woman and children when help is not coming with Jessica Arno
Women’s and children’s health emergencies are often overlooked in preparedness and self-reliance training—yet they can be some of the most critical and life-threatening situations in a survival scenario.
Basic Preparedness with Ryan Broughton
Seminar on basic preparedness from Ryan Broughton, CEM, CBCP
More coming soon
Intermediate Preparedness with Ryan Broughton
Seminar on intermediate preparedness from Ryan Broughton, CEM, CBCP
More coming soon
Reality check on preparedness and self-reliance with Jason Marsteiner
A lot of people believe they are ready for difficult situations because they have gear, have watched videos, or have picked up bits and pieces of knowledge along the way. The truth is, most of that confidence hasn’t been tested, and it tends to fall apart quickly when things don’t go as planned. Jason breaks down where that disconnect comes from and why it matters by looking at three areas that shape real capability: training, gear, and people.
Training will focus on the difference between knowing something and being able to do it under pressure. It will highlight how quickly simple tasks become difficult when stress is introduced, and why hands-on experience changes everything.
Gear will be addressed in a practical way. Not what to buy, but how people misuse it and rely on it as a crutch. We’ll talk about how gear can create a false sense of confidence, and what it actually means to be able to use what you carry. The people side is often overlooked. This portion will touch on why trying to do everything alone is a mistake, and how having the right people around you can change outcomes in a big way.
The goal of this presentation is not to overwhelm or dive into technical detail. It’s to give people an honest look at where they stand, challenge assumptions, and provide a clear starting point for improving their own level of readiness. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of what they’re doing right, where they’re likely overestimating themselves, and what they can begin working on immediately.
You’ll leave with knowledge, confidence, and connections that last far beyond the event.
Because uncertainty isn’t going away — and skills matter more than ever.
If you believe skills are freedom — you belong here.
Join the Thrive Self-Reliance Movement
More than an event.
It’s a gathering of people choosing preparedness over panic, skills over shortcuts, and community over isolation.
Douglas County Fairgrounds
Kirk Hall—Midway
500 Fairgrounds Dr.
Castle Rock, CO 80104
The Thrive Self-Reliance Initiative was formed to help raise public awareness about living a more sustainable and self-reliant lifestyle. To gain knowledge on the foundations of self-reliance and be prepared for eventualities that may arise. Sharing skills and experiences to teach others to help themselves, their family, and the community in uncertain times.
Teaching the skills to Thrive, not just survive.
Jessica has been affectionately dubbed: 
