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Conservatives throughout the country are set to gather in Arizona on Thursday to celebrate the life and legacy of activist Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference.
The four-day-long event held at the Phoenix Convention Center features big names from both the Make America Great Again and conservative movements, including Vice President JD Vance, who is expected to be the event’s keynote speaker on Sunday, and Erika Kirk, who is headlining the event.
The conference comes as the organization grapples with the September assassination of Kirk, who was gunned down at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
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Charlie Kirk, president and founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona, on Dec. 22, 2024. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“At AmericaFest 2025, we gather to honor Charlie’s legacy — to continue the mission he began and to celebrate the country he loved,” Turning Point USA wrote.
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Turning Point USA executive director Charlie Kirk speaks during AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center on Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
The event — billed as a “powerful celebration of faith, freedom, and the legacy of founder, Charlie Kirk” — provides college students throughout the country with the opportunity to hear from some of the nation’s top conservative leaders, while also meeting with over 100 organizations and receiving activism training for the next generation of leaders.
AmericaFest is expected to attract over 30,000 attendees, with organizers revealing this year is set to see the biggest turnout yet. It also comes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with organizers looking to energize a new demographic of young voters with the hopes of strengthening the conservative base before a new flock of students heads to the polling place next year.
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Then President-elect Donald Trump speaks during Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, Ariz., on Dec. 22, 2024. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Charlie changed the world not just by speaking, but by listening and by pointing a lost generation to faith and to eternal hope, which is in Christ,” Riley Gaines said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday morning.
Attendees can also expect to hear from several other conservative heavyweights at the conference, including Donald Trump Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, as TurningPoint USA looks to rebuild after the tragic death of its founder while staying true to its roots of facilitating conversations across the political aisle.
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“You have to counter bad ideas with good ideas,” Erika Kirk told “Fox & Friends,” adding, “You have to have that debate and dialog.”
Digital’s Tessa Hoyos contributed to this report.
