Fayetteville spent the past three days trying to answer a question that has nagged city leaders for years: how do you keep young adults from packing up for Raleigh or Charlotte the moment they finish school? The city's answer this week was 910 Future Fest, a free, registration-required festival built around entrepreneurship, workforce development and youth engagement, capped Saturday by a free concert at Segra Stadium featuring Lloyd, Waka Flocka Flame and the 82nd Airborne Division Band.
The festival was hosted by the Fayetteville NEXT Advisory Commission, and according to ABC11, commission chair Nathan Cuffee said the goal was for attendees to leave educated, know what to do next, and feel able to thrive in Fayetteville. Vice-chair L'Queitah Miller told the outlet the event was designed to let entrepreneurs, residents and students interact with people they don't run into every day, calling it a way to create opportunities, gather feedback and support business sustainability. The commission itself was chartered by the Fayetteville City Council and rebranded in January 2023 from its original millennial-focused name, a shift documented by CityView NC that widened its mandate to residents ages 19 to 39.
A Week That Started Behind Closed Doors
Festival week opened Thursday with an invitation-only welcome ceremony recognizing partners, sponsors and community leaders — closed to the public and reserved for invited officials and media, per the same ABC11 account. Friday brought the public-facing programming into view: a Lunch & Learn ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Segra Stadium, featuring PwC and the City of Fayetteville's economic development team focused on workforce development, career advancement and regional opportunities, with lunch provided to registered attendees.
That same afternoon, ten Fayetteville business owners pitched to a panel of CEOs, entrepreneurs and economic leaders during a business pitch competition at Shaw Auditorium on Fayetteville State University's campus, running from 2 to 4 p.m. Four participants walked away with prizes meant to support continued growth, topped by a $5,000 award. The competition was presented in collaboration with Fayetteville State University, the Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneur & Business Hub, and Camelback Ventures — a national accelerator whose own materials describe it as tailored specifically to early-stage entrepreneurs of color and women founders.
The Institutions Backing the Push
The Entrepreneur Hub bringing pitch expertise to the festival isn't a new fixture. It was built with $2 million in combined state, county, municipal and philanthropic funding to deliver small business counseling, capital access and government contracting support across ten counties, according to the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Just two weeks before Future Fest, Fayetteville State University and the hub held their inaugural Entrepreneurial Impact Awards Gala, honoring local small business leaders, veteran-owned companies and student entrepreneurs — momentum that BizFayetteville reported carried directly into festival week.
The pitch competition wasn't the commission's first swing at business-focused programming. It previously launched the annual Next Generation Business Summit, which drew roughly 200 young professionals and students to its third edition at Fayetteville State University in April, BizFayetteville reported at the time. On the ground, business owner Donovan McArthur, of Mac's Concrete LLC, told ABC11 the festival's luncheon made connections with city offices easier to come by than they otherwise would be.
Youth Programming and a Saturday Full of Options
Local college and university students and volunteers also got firsthand experience producing and executing a major community event, ABC11 noted. Youth engagement ran through the Two-Six Project's Emerging Leaders Initiative, which provided leadership development, mentoring and community engagement opportunities for younger residents. The nonprofit, founded in 2020 by Fayetteville native Grant Bennett, received a $25,000 Safe Space Activation Grant from the City of Fayetteville in April to expand youth leadership and violence-prevention work, according to the City of Fayetteville.
Saturday's schedule included a fitness and wellness event for students before the festival closed out with its signature concert. Gates at Segra Stadium opened at 5 p.m., with the show running from 6 to 10 p.m. and featuring R&B artist Lloyd and hip-hop artist Waka Flocka Flame alongside local and regional performers. ABC11 described the free concert as the conclusion to a weekend of Fayetteville culture, businesses, food, music and community.
A Downtown Already Packed With Events
Future Fest didn't have downtown Fayetteville to itself. The same weekend, Hay Street and Festival Park hosted the 48th Annual International Folk Festival, featuring a Parade of Nations representing more than 30 cultural groups, according to the Arts Council of Fayetteville. The same organizers also marked “J. Cole Week,” tying the Grammy-winning Fayetteville native's homecoming into the broader citywide celebration.
Segra Stadium itself carries its own development backstory. The city-owned facility opened in April 2019 as a $37.8 million anchor for a $100 million downtown revitalization effort, according to Minor League Baseball, and it now doubles as the home ballpark of the Low-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers alongside its role hosting civic events like this week's Lunch & Learn and concert.
State-Level Ripples During Festival Week
State-Level Ripples During Festival Week Municipal momentum extended beyond downtown programming this week. In August 2026, N.C. Governor Josh Stein appointed Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin to Division 6 of the North Carolina Board of Transportation, a seat covering Cumberland and four neighboring counties. The appointment places Fayetteville's leadership within regional infrastructure planning even as the city competes for the young workers and small businesses that organizers hope 910 Future Fest will help keep in town.
