The success of every event hinges on an effective plan to attract guests or ticket buyers. Learn how to use traditional and today’s tools, namely AI to bulld an effective marketing campaign. Even small event organizers can build big marketing campaigns to grow their events.
Adaptive Strategies for Incorporating Social Media Into Your Event
Joshua Dirks, Project Bionic
We’ll explore innovative approaches to leveraging social media platforms to enhance event engagement and reach. Attendees will gain practical strategies for integrating adaptive marketing techniques that respond to the digital landscape. Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your event’s online presence and effectively connect with your audience.
Learn How to Make the Most Out of Traditional and Non-Traditional Media
Not only do events have to continue to work with traditional media like print and broadcast, they also need to best utilize digital marketing. Hear from the Vice President of Sound Media, who works in both areas.
Main Conference
Wednesday, October 29
Wednesday's Programming
Sponsored by Alexander Party Rentals
KEYNOTE:
Current Trends In Increasing Event Revenue
3:00 - 4:00 PM
Becky Genoways, Genoways Events
Are you maximizing your event revenue? As economic challenges and escalating expenses weigh heavily on event budgets, event professionals increasingly focus on event revenue streams. Gain insight into the best practices, strategies, and current trends in our industry.
Round Table Sessions
4:15 p.m.
Round table leaders include:
Austin Taylor, Brad Smith, Wendy Tyner, Jon Bockstruck, Brad Jones, Terri Muharsky, Joe Allan Muharsky, Will Lewis
First-Timers Session
5:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Opening Reception
Hosted at Forum Social House
6:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Visit Bellevue
Thursday, October 30
Thursday's Programming
Sponsored by Grand Event Rentals
OPENING SESSION:
Events as Part of the Tourism Mix
8:15 – 9:15 a.m.
Howard Wright, Chairman, Seattle Hospitality Group
Brad Jones, Visit Bellevue, Moderator
Hear from one of the region’s top tourism experts – he is the chair of Seattle Hospitality Group (SHG), which he founded in 2002. SHG is a holding company with interests in bet0in-class event management, hospitality, tourism and transportation companies in the Pacific Northwest. SHG is ranked in the top 40 of private companies in Washington. Known as an excellent employer, SHG oversees 400 employees with revenues in excess of $100 million.
Breakouts
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
What’s Ahead for 2026
Beth Knox, Seattle Sports Commission
Learn what major events are in store for Seattle in 2026 and in subsequent years, as the City begins to plan for the biggest sporting event on the planet, the FIFA World Cup.
Producing concerts in Small to Mid-sized Markets
Kari Chance, Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts
Exploring unique challenges and opportunities of producing concerts outside major cities. From booking talent and building local partnerships to marketing on a budget and creating unforgettable fan experiences, learn how to make a big impact in smaller markets. Whether you’re a seasoned promoter or just getting started, you’ll leave with practical tips and fresh ideas to elevate your shows.
How Do We Talk to Our Customers?
Natalie Maitland, Keen Bee Consulting
Let’s focus on the customer journey and discuss strategies for identifying current and future customers. Plus, learn where you can connect with them and what messaging they are looking for to take action to attend your event.
Event Energizer: Shifting from Routine to Riveting
(hands-on workshop session)
Ira Rosen, Ira Rosen LLC
Event producers are often focused on the questions of "What we are doing" and "How we are doing it." This hands-on session will explore the "why" we do events focusing on our stakeholders' needs. This will be a hands-on workshop exploring the beginning stages of The Event Canvas ™
For Fundraising Events:
30 Ideas in 45 minutes
Shelly Tolo, Tolo Events
Deci Evans, Kind + Co Events
Get that next great idea or ideas during this rapid session from two of the top fundraising event professionals in the industry.
Tips for Selling Alcohol Legally and Safely at Events
Beth Lehmann, Kalynn Gubbe, WSLCB
Here’s what festival and event organizers should know about this very important subject. The WSLCB will educate you on how to have safe and legal events with alcohol. They will cover all types of licenses permits, ways to obtain and sell alcohol, and relationships with alcohol industry members at events.
Breakouts
10:30 – 11:15 a.m.
The Ten Most Important Things You Can Do to Maximize Your Event Revenue
Are you 100 per cent efficient in capturing your event revenue? The keys to maximizing efficiency and accountability are people, products and process. Whether you’re just starting out in the industry, or you’ve been involved for years, this session will help keep you ahead of the curve.
Show Me the Equity
A Special Two Hour Session
Karen Foster, KF Curates; Aaron Shook, Columbia Hospitallity, Deci Evans, Kind + Co.
Build events, foster belonging and learn more about DEIB in the event industry. This workshop aims to create awareness and provide actionable insights to promte equity and inclusivity in the event planning process.
What’s the point of this meeting?
Robert Cunningham, Stages Northwest
Your event is 12 weeks away and you’ve assembled a great team…so where are the results? Managing teams can be a frustrating endeavor, but in this session we’ll develop a culture of accountability, give you the tools needed for a productive team meeting, and refine the skills to put them to use!
How to Keep Sponsors Coming Back
Tawnia Linde, Clark County Fair
Most sponsorship managers will tell you that it is far easier to renew a sponsor than to go searching for a new one. Learn how to “Under Promise and Over Deliver” in order to keep sponsors coming back for more!
Crafting Stories that Transform the Power of Storytelling in Events
Gazala Uradnik, GFS Events
In the competitive landscape of events, it is crucial to infuse your organization's story into every element of the event. This presentation will guide those who plan nonprofit events on how to seamlessly integrate their organization's mission into all aspects of an event, ensuring a cohesive and impactful experience for attendees. From the cocktail hour to the dinner program and beyond, every detail should resonate with the core values and objectives of the client. Participants will learn practical strategies for embedding messaging into various aspects of the program which will maximize guest engagement. Discover how to turn every moment of your event into a powerful reflection of your mission, leaving a lasting impression on your supporters and driving your cause forward.
City Track:
Best Practices for City Event Production
Jaquelyn Ball, Mark Hendrickson, David Wells, Chuck Denney
Network Supplier Lunch
11:30 AM
Discover the latest trends in our industry – each table at the lunch will be hosted by a vendor/exhibitor, who will distribute materials and discuss the merits of their product with fellow table members. During the lunch, you will be able to visit with several suppliers.
Breakouts
2:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Show Me the Equity (Part 2)
A Special Two Hour Session
Karen Foster, KF Curates; Aaron Shook, Columbia Hospitallity, Deci Evans, Kind + Co.
Revenue Accelerator: Proven Tactics to Skyrocket Your Merchandise Sales
Ellen Simeonoff, Kodiak Crab Festival; Tom Stebbins, Vision Marketing
Join Brenton Webster, CEO of FastBar Technologies and Tom Stebbins of Vision Marketing, for an insider’s guide to unlocking untapped merchandise revenues at your events.
Burnout: Real and Preventable
Dr. Joshua Jones, Providence
Learn about workplace and career burnout, its effect on people and organizations, and how you can harness the concept of resiliency to prevent and reverse burnout.
How to Stage Multiple Large-scale Annual Events
Jon Neill, Spokane Community Cancer Fund
From celebrity golf tournaments, to Lake Coeur d’Alene concerts, to a big city road race, to sold-out Zags basketball games - - here’s how Spokane’s Community Cancer Fund puts on some of the region’s biggest events each year. Director Jon Neill shares the secret ingredients for putting on four major charity events each year.
The Power Duo: How Marketing and Selling Festival Sponsorships Drive Success
Phil Megenhardt, John Thorburn, Bold Hat Productions
We’ll explore the power of combining marketing and sales strategies to create a unified approach to festival sponsorship. By blending creative marketing techniques with effective sales tactics, event organizers can maximize their sponsor relationships, drive greater value, and elevate the overall event experience. Learn how aligning these two critical components can lead to stronger partnerships, increased revenue, and long-term success for your festivals. Let’s rethink sponsorship: when marketing and selling go hand in hand, success follows.
City Track:
How to Streamline Your Processes
Sean Douglas
Breakouts
3:00 – 3:45 p.m.
Intellectual Properties Best Practices
Winfield Martin, Perkins Coie
Every event involves intellectual property, whether it’s the name of a festival, the licensing for music that’s performed, or pictures of vendor artwork that’s displayed on your website All of these and other pieces of IP – and whether they’re misued or not protected by their owners – have important implications for organizations that stage events. This seminar will help you understand how to spot those issues, protect your rights, and avoid IP misuses that cause headaches and costs.
Protecting Your Event: Use of Small Unmanned Aircraft System (Drones)
Frank Sebastian, Emergency Management Group; Lisa Courneya, Incident Commander and Air Operations Director
This session offers in-depth training on utilizing drones (sUAS) to improve safety and security at special events. Attendees will gain insights into effective drone deployment for crowd monitoring, emergency response, and overall event planning and management. The curriculum covers both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
Why We Sponsor What We Do
Donya Alward, First Fed; Howie Ruddell, Ruddell Auto
Too many times we look at sponsorship through our event’s eyes, instead of through the eyes of our sponsors. Learn how you can increase your sponsorship revenues by learning what drives the needs of your prospective partners.
Here’s Inside Secrets: Best Practices for Festival and Event Ticketing
Amy Maxwell, Ticket Tomato
After working with long-term client partnerships, processing millions in ticket sales, and analyzing markets, Ticket Tomato has discovered trends, techniques and processes that will help you to create a high-performing ticket portal for you event. Discover how to maximize your features; optimize your pricing; the timing of sales and promotions; the best time to create an on-sale date; fee strategies; best practices for messaging and communication; repeat customers, and more.
Here’s Unique Ways to Recognize Your Sponsors
Shelly Tolo, Tolo Events; Amanda Korb, Blue Ink
Most of the time sponsors are recognized in the same old ways at fundraising events. Here’s how you can get creative and give them special recognition.
City Track:
Working Effectively with City Departments
Ashley Young
Breakouts
4:00 – 4:45 p.m.
Everything You Need to Know About Volunteers
Trevor Lane, WSU Community and Economic Development
Volunteers are essential for the success of events and festivals, offering significant economic and social benefits. Volunteering enhances both economic development and social cohesion, making it indispensable for event planning and community engagement. Effective volunteer programs require intentional recruitment, clear role descriptions, training, recognition, and conflict management. The Four R’s—recruit, reward, retain, and relationships—are key to a sustainable program.
All the Mistakes I Made
Craig Cooke, Pacific Rim Talent
If running an event was easy, everyone would do it. The mistakes I made along the way were painful, but mistakes condition you to think quick on your feet and come up with solutions to strengthen your next event. Remember that mistakes will happen – it’s how you deal with them that is the measuring stick.
All Things Music: From Hip Hop to Classical
Stephen Ruffo, Bellevue Wintergrass, Erika Olsen, Winthrop Rhythm and Blues; Emilie Baker, Olympic Music Festival
This session will discuss the new world of booking entertainment, including the best time to book artists and the importance of taking care of them. Learn from some of the top music festival producers in the State!
How to Keep Your Sponsors Coming Back
Cari Dixon, Washington State Fair
Discover how to shift from transactional sponsorships to transformational partnerships that deliver long-term value for both your organization and your sponsors. This session will explore strategies to deepen engagement, co-create meaningful experiences, and communicate impact year-round. Learn what took the Fair from single-event sponsorships to transformational multi-year and multi-event partnerships.
So You Want to Hold a Fundraising Event
Jerry Allen, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Gail Ralston, Olympic Medical Center Foundation, Deci Evans, Kind & Co.
Here’s what you can do outside of that traditional gala, including golf, runs, festival of Trees, and yes, a duck race.
City Track:
New Fire Rules & Regulations
Kiah Patzkowsky and King Co. Officials
WFEA Awards Dinner
5:30 PM
Presented by U-Cool Refrigeration
Help us recognize the best in our industry, as we welcome new inductees into the WFEA Hall of Fame presented by Grant Event Rentals, the State’s Volunteer of the Year presented by Stages Northwest and the winners of the Summit Awards, presented by Honey Bucket.
Also recognized will be the next graduates of the WFEA Certification Program presented by Ticket Tomato, the Event Supporter of the Year sponsored by Morgan Sound, the Event of the Year presented by Alexander Party Rentals, Event Organizer of the Year sponsored by CORT Party Rental, Event Producer of the Year sponsored by Green Latrine, and the Rising Star Award presented by Bellevue Lighting.
Friday, October 31
Friday Keynote:
Best Practices for Taking Care of Your Key Players
8:00 – 8:45 a.m.
Vladimir Rukavina, President, International Festival of LENT; General Manager, Narodni-dom Maribor, Cultural Center
Vladimir Rukavina is one of the most important and steadfast figures of the post-socialist transition in Slovenia. In Maribor, he has developed a festival that has 17 stages and oversees another 300 events. Learn how he takes care of sponsors, staff, volunteers, politicians and others.
Breakouts
9:00 – 9:45 a.m.
The Latest Issues for Event Company Owners and Leaders -- and How to Deal With Them
David Doxtater, The Workshop
Gazala Uradnik, GFS Events
This advanced session sill cover new State rules about exempt salary employees, insurance issues, accounting/payroll/timesheet systems, HR practices, contracts and personnel policies, plus strategies during a gloomy economy and other issues. It will cover how WFEA event leaders think about building a company and their business, whether for-profit, non-profit or B-Corp.
Practical AI 101 : A Beginner’s Guide to Everyday AI
Joe Muharsky, Teamatorium
Demystify artificial intelligence in this accessible session designed for beginners curious about incorporating AI into their daily lives. Joe Allan Muharsky introduces the major AI platforms, demonstrates fundamental techniques, and shares simple tricks that require minimal technical expertise. Discover how AI can assist with everyday tasks, from personal productivity to professional applications including (but not limited to) event planning, creative work and administrative support.
Production & Planning for Live Music Events
Chris Ortolano and Robert Cunningham, Event Stages Northwest; Cari Dixon, Washington State Fair; Will Lewis, Point Source
Learn how to empower your event team with a flexible, scalable, digital dashboard.
1. Run of Show- planning and preparation
2. Load In / Load Out - scheduling multiple vendors
You will improve communication, accountability, and transparency, with low cost software, and start to measure progress, prepare for contingencies, with a powerful event dashboard.
So You Want To Put On a Fireworks Show: How to Put a Good Value Into the Sky
Brent Pavlicek, Western Display Fireworks
A primer on how to stage a fireworks show, this session will explore the details of adding firworks to benefit your event. Learn what is possible, and most importantly, what is necessary.
Why Festivals and Events are Important to the Cultural Sector
Karen Hanan, Washington State Arts Commission
Learn how festivals and events are very important to the creative economy, and how ArtsWa has and will continue to help the sector.
Breakouts
10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
The Art of Collecting Data to Give Your Event Value
Sean Coleman, Lincoln Park BMX; Brad Jones, Visit Bellevue
Learn how you can collect data using geo-fencing, which can be used to determine the economic impact of your event. Armed with this information, policymakers and stakeholders are better prepared to support events.
Increasing Your Food and Beverage Revenue
Alby Allen, Ballard Seafoodfest
It takes a village: local Merchants have helped Ballard SeafoodFest Beer Sales grow by 500% over a decade. Also, festival seafood sales are up by 120%. Learn more about local beer, barbeque and revenue opportunities; time to belly up!"
Practical AI 201: Responsible AI
Joe Allan Muharsky, Teamatorium, Amy Maxwell, Ticket Tomato
Take your AI skills to the next level with this advanced, hands-on demonstration led by Joe Allan Muharsky. Building on concepts from his published article, this session explores sophisticated AI applications specifically for complex event scenarios. Through real-time demonstrations and audience-directed challenges, participants will discover how to leverage AI for in-depth research, content creation, advanced planning and data visualization that can transform their event operations and attendee experiences.
Thinking Outside the Box
Dr. Annie Sidro, Carnival in Nice
Hear from Dr. Annie Sidro, the foremost authority on the planet about the World of Mardi Gras-Carnival. Nice Mardi Gras is the oldest and one of the largest events in the world, starting in 1294. Learn what they do each year to upgrade their event.
City Track:
Protecting Your Event
Frank Sebastian
Breakouts
11:00 – 11:45 a.m.
The Pursuit of Great Financial Governance
Jon Stone, Jon Stone Consulting
In an era of rising costs and unpredictable funding, small festivals must stretch every dollar further—without losing their heart and soul. This no-nonsense session shares real-world strategies to stabilize your event’s finances, from adapting big-festival tactics on a shoestring budget to making strategic choices that protect your bottom line. Discover how to leverage overlooked resources, optimize existing partnerships, and turn constraints into creative opportunities—all while preserving what makes your event special. Leave with practical, immediately usable approaches to navigate uncertainty and keep your festival financially viable for the long haul."
Advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals Through Event Initiatives
Eddie Redman, Grand Event Rentals
In this session we will go through cause and effects of climate change, and then examine what we can do one step at a time to change the world throughout our industry.
Protecting Your Event: Emerging Threats for the Outdoor Event Industry
Mike Reichert, AXIS PNW
Active shooters, vehicles used as weapons, weather and drones are all threats to our events. Learn how to best mitigate them.
Sponsorship Reimagined: Cutting Edge Strategies for Growth
Paula Beadle, Sponsorship Marketing Association
Get ready for a high-energy, deep dive into sponsorship marketing with industry veteran Paula Beadle. Discover how the sponsorship landscape has evolved and continues to shift at rapid speed. Paula will share the latest industry tends while delivering actionable insights and real-world strategies you can implement immediately to drive growth.
Come prepared with your toughest questions – Paula is ready to share the insider knowledge that will keep you on the cutting edge.
Tips for Selling Alcohol Legally and Safely at Events
(Continued from 10:00 a.m.)
City Track:
Community Notification, Policies & Practices
Kiah Patzkowsky and Ashley Young
Closing Session:
Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y (millennials), Gen Z and now Gen A: Trends in the World of Event Marketing
Aaron Shook, Columbia Hospitality
This session will break down the influence different generations have on hospitality and what this will mean for the world of Events.
The landscape of food & beverage has changed dramatically in the few years since the pandemic. We will explore growing trends in the event and food & beverage landscapes, acknowledge some of the challenges we are facing in a rapidly shifting market, and get excited about the future
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We will discuss trends that will impact your businesses success, both in the near-term and long-term, identify customer expectations, and understand potential pitfalls in a changing landscape.
MEMBERSHIP:
We offer 3 different membership rate levels. For students, individuals and organizations - each based on annual budget.
