Looking to up your game when it comes to experiences and activations at your next event?  

Recently, we attended Connect North, a regional event for association, corporate, and independent planners and organizers. Held Jan. 27-29 at the Marriott Downtown Kansas City, Connect North brought together planners and suppliers for three days of industry insights, one-on-one meetings and high-impact networking.  

Here’s our curated list of 14 engaging event ideas you can adapt, test and try at your next corporate event. 

1. Regiception. When registration meets reception, it creates a fun, energizing event kickoff for attendees. When registration opened so did games, activations, food stations, cocktail bars, music, photo ops, and more. 

2. Build your own amenity. Organizers worked with sponsors to offer welcome bags for attendees to take to their rooms and enjoy throughout their stay. Amenities included individual “jarcueterie,” brownies in a tub, fresh fruit, popcorn, and a variety of drinks. 

3. Custom bracelets. Visit KC brought in Nickel & Suede, a local jewelry business, so attendees could create their own Kansas City Era Jewelry during regi-ception. Attendees made upscale gold or silver friendship bracelets with personalized beads and charms. 

4. T-shirt giveaway. Event host and sponsor Visit KC gave away branded t-shirts from Charlie Hustle, a Kansas City-based brand that began selling its signature KC Heart t-shirts in 2011. Since then, more than 1 million KC Heart t-shirts have been worn by people across the globe, including homegrown celebrities like Paul Rudd. 

5. Sharable event photos. Organizers worked with SpotMyPhotos to provide professional event photos that were delivered via email or text to attendees immediately through facial recognition technology. The shareable photos included the event name, logo, dates, and location.  

6. City tours. After sitting in sessions indoors, attendees got to head outdoors for city tours one afternoon. Attendees could select from one of five exclusive adventures, including Kansas City’s Breweries & Distilleries, Unique Boutique Hotels, Charming Country Club Plaza, All in One at Crown Center, and Downtown Convention District. 

7. Fun photo ops. As the Kansas City Chiefs made a run for the Super Bowl during the event, organizers played off the timely theme. The Chiefs mascot, KC Wolf, made an appearance and took pics. Life-size cut-outs of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce provided plenty of fun photo ops. 

8. Milk & cookie break. During one afternoon networking break, Visit Kansas City worked with Shatto Milk Company, a local dairy, and Brown Suga Cookies, a local family-owned bakery, to treat attendees to a milk and cookie break. The milk station featured a variety of flavors, including chocolate, strawberry, whole, cookies and cream, and cotton candy. Cookies offered included chocolate chip, sugar, cookies ‘n cream, lemon, and double chocolate. 

9. Headshot station. At events for business professionals, attendees flock to headshot stations, where they can get updated professional photos. This station was set up with a backdrop, lighting equipment, and a high-end DSLR camera, along with a professional corporate headshot photographer who helped attendees pose to get the best possible shot. 

10. Signature cocktails with local spirits. At the opening reception in a former bank vault that’s now an upscale bar and speakeasy called the Voo Lounge, organizers offered signature cocktails, including Fruit Salad Fizz made with locally sourced Lifted Spirits Vodka and Voo Fashioned, an old fashioned made with locally sourced Rieger Whiskey. 

11. Party at the aquarium. The event’s opening party was held at the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, which features the $77 million Sobela Ocean Aquarium that opened in 2023. Attendees could dine, drink, and network against a beautiful backdrop of a 650,000-gallon-tank featuring more than 8,000 animals. Attendees could touch sea urchins and star fishes at an interactive display. 

12. Local giveaways. As attendees left the opening party, they were treated to local goodies, like a Macadamia Nut Sea Salt bar from Christopher Elbow Chocolates, which has been producing hand-crafted chocolate bonbons and confections in Kansas City since 2003. 

13. Custom donut station. For breakfast one morning, Donutology KC served fresh, custom donuts with unique flavors and toppings, such as strawberry heart sprinkles, lemon meringue, blue snowflakes, and strawberry shortcake. 

14. BBQ sauce bar. Kansas City is known for its BBQ, so why not offer a sampling of BBQ sauces? The Museum of BBQ provided sauce samples from Kansas City, the Carolinas, Texas, and Memphis, Tenn. 

Photo by SpotMyPhotos and Danica Tormohlen