At the crux of a vibrant, inclusive culture, an iconic skyline, and a booming tech culture is Seattle. The nearly 84-square-mile northwestern city — though best known for its coffee scene (it’s the hometown of Starbucks) — has a flourishing meetings and events landscape marked by LEED-certified hotels teeming with eco-friendly initiatives, local produce-forward culinary experiences, and more than a million square feet worth of gathering space to take advantage of. Here’s what’s new, noteworthy, nearly open, and more for meeting and event groups in Seattle.

If you like your sourcing with a side of insight, the education lineup for this summer’s Connect Marketplace in Milwaukee has confirmed a full learning program for business-event professionals.

While the main goal of the August 27-29 hosted-buyer event is to bring together buyers and sellers to network and do business, attendees can earn up to nine hours of continuing education credit toward their Certified Meeting Professional certification or recertification.

Sponsored by Nth Degree Events

As macroeconomic trends push up event costs and reshape event strategies, it should come as no surprise that another event mainstay—food and beverage (F&B)—is seeing a shake-up. Instead of the traditional ritual of bringing programming to a halt for meals at fixed times, a growing number of events are offering flexible F&B, allowing attendees to eat on their own schedule.

A group of six event industry leaders focused on nurturing innovative event ideas into flourishing businesses formed a consortium dedicated to shaping the future of the events industry. Offering expert mentorship, a collaborative community and strategic funding, Events Venture Group (EVG) is a nonprofit consortium designed to help next-generation event entrepreneurs launch and grow their events into successful enterprises.

Even when he’s not at work creating delicious fare for hotel guests and event groups at the William F. Bolger Center conference hotel in Potomac, MD, Chef Justin Key is still thinking about food.

“My oldest friends and my brother are all professional chefs, which makes for some interesting ‘shop talk’ even on days off,” Key said. “We often bounce ideas off each other and get together to play around with food. I enjoy cooking for large family events and find many food inspirations from those gatherings.”

A record number of business events industry leaders met with policymakers on Capitol Hill on Thurs., May 30 as part of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) annual Legislative Action Day. More than 130 advocates from 25 states raised awareness about the U.S.

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino completed a $100 million redesign of its 2.1 million-square-foot Mandalay Bay Convention Center, designed to meet the needs and preferences of modern meetings and events.

Ahead of the upcoming Cvent CONNECT, set for June 10-13, Rachel Andrews, the software giant’s head of global events, sat down with us for an exclusive, tell-all interview that makes it clear why she was chosen for our new and ongoing  “Industry Trailblazers” feature. 

The theme for Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress (WEC), held last week in Louisville, Ky., was “Craft Your Experience.” But if MPI were to pick a theme for the association itself, “momentum” might be a good choice.

 There’s no better case study in fan engagement than live sporting events. Take it from sports merchandise giant Fanatics, which tapped Komo Technologies to measure its level of fan engagement as part of a new partnership that’s set to debut at the first-ever Fanatics Fest in New York City this summer.