2026 SPONSORS | 2026 Conference Sessions
The 2026 conference schedule is packed with educational sessions that address current and future challenges in the events industry, as well as business fundamentals and exciting up-and-coming trends. Schedule At-A-Glance Schedule is subject to change. More information coming soon about specific sessions and speakers. Wednesday
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2026 Confirmed Sessions Securing Public Gatherings Workshop - Pre-Conference Session Join CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency) for an interactive workshop focused on enhancing the safety and security of public events. Learn key principles of risk awareness, understand vulnerabilities and threat vectors, and explore layered security strategies that strengthen your event operations. Through real-world guidance, breakout conversations, and actionable planning tools, attendees will gain practical steps to help mitigate threats and support safer experiences for every gathering. More information coming soon...
Idea Cafe - This is an interactive lunch designed to spark meaningful conversation and share real-time insights with your peers. Grab your meal, Pick your room, join the conversation, and leave with actionable ideas.
AI for Festivals and Events Artificial Intelligence is sharing how event professionals plan, promote, and manage their festivals. This session is designed for first-time users, skeptical leaders, and anyone who keeps hearing about AI but has not been shown how it applies to festivals and events Explore real use cases like marketing content creation, programming ideation, sponsorship prep, and internal planning. You will learn what AI is good at, where it fails, and how to avoid the most common mistakes that waste time or create risk. We’ll also review popular AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Midjourney. Many tools event professionals use already include AI. We will discuss how to incorporate existing AI features into your process and how to pick new tools that connect with your existing technology.
Advanced AI for Festivals and Events If you are already using AI tools and want to go deeper, this session moves past basics and into strategy. We will explore how experienced teams are using AI to build repeatable systems across marketing, sponsorship, operations, and reporting while staying aligned with their mission and audience. Topics include advanced prompt design for real-world event scenarios, building internal playbooks, using AI for sponsor research and customization, and creating workflows that save time across an entire season rather than one task at a time. We will also address ethical use, data boundaries, and how to keep human judgment at the center of decision-making.  Placemaking Essentials Lisa Middag, Senior Director for Economic Development for the Mpls Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District Whether you’ve used the term of not, chances are your events work has touched on aspects of placemaking. This class is your opportunity to learn what placemaking is, what it is not, and how you can apply the practice and principals of placemaking in your events planning work to connect better with audiences and support stronger event outcomes. Learning Objective #1: Learn how placemaking can be used to engage communities inclusively and foster collaboration and communication. Learning Objective #2: Gain an understanding of placemaking as a process, including adapting to create flexible solutions based on the community’s ideas, and facilitating the transformation of their ideas into authentic place outcomes. Learning Objective #3: Attendees will recognize the critical phases of placemaking implementation, including program development, budgets, and in-kind contributions, and how to foster inclusive design processes, assure resilient program management, and evaluate program strategies.
Ten Experts, Ten Projects - Ten industry experts discuss ten real-world challenges they have faced while producing festivals and events across Minnesota. In this fast-paced session, each expert shares how they approached a challenge in a variety of different function areas that include: logistics, vendors, rentals, funding, sustainability, accessibility, design and marketing. Expect practical ideas, fresh perspectives, and actionable takeaways you can use right away.
Social Media 2026 Social media continues to be one of the most effective ways to communicate with audiences. But increasing fragmentation, pay-to-play, and algorithm updates can make it difficult to get consistent results. This session reviews major updates and opportunities across social media platforms in 2026. We’ll review organic and paid social media, influencer strategy, and what tactics still perform well in 2026. We’ll also consider “secondary” platforms where audiences may be more receptive to messaging.
This session is designed for professionals of all experience levels. Beginners will learn strong basics to grow their knowledge, and experienced practitioners will learn trends to level up their work.
More details coming soon:
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