 Friends, did you attend Go West 2020 in Edmonton in January? If you did, then you can guess that this post is full of all the awesomeness that was this unique event planners trade show. And if you didn't attend, then get ready for some serious FOMAL. Stick around everyone. Back from Go West 2020 in Edmonton and once again, it did not disappoint. This is the third year for Go West, produced by Timewise Management and it was an incredible show. Lots of changes from 2019 event and I suspect they'll change it again and make things fresh and energizing for 2021. So today I want to share with you six of my top experiences at Go West. So you know, there's so many more than just six, but these were the top highlights for me from this year's show. But before I begin, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and click on the little bell to be notified of new content. I do these event planner show recaps quite often, but I also do educational pieces on YouTube for both event planners and for meeting partners. So ensure that you subscribe to stay on top of my weekly videos. Okay, so let's launch into what made Go West so successful this year. Number one, the TED Talk style main stage. Now they've done this format since the beginning and it truly is the staple and the main focal point of Go West. It is a morning and afternoon full of rapid fire talks by big names in the events industry and people who are soon to be big names in the events industry because their content is so good. I really don't know how Go West does it and they attracts such incredible content. But this year we saw people like Miguel Neves, Karina Bauer, Lara McCullough, David Merrill, David Adler, Brent Baroutes. If you do not know him, you're going to know him after this video. It was just an incredible lineup. Oh, Alex, don't let me forget about my friend Alex Plaxton, just an incredible lineup of speakers and one of the true highlights of the Go West show. Top experience number two were the breakout rooms. Now when Brandt Taylor of Timeways came up to me and said, oh, I can't wait for you to experience a breakout rooms, they are phenomenal. They're like nothing you've ever seen before. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit skeptical. I've been to a few event planner shows now where they have put resources into the breakout rooms and they've redesigned what breakout rooms should look like. So I wasn't sure what Go West was going to do that was so radically different from what I had seen in the past. However, I did know that Dustin Westling of One West events was involved and that guy is no schmuck when it comes to creativity. So I was cautiously optimistic that Dustin was going to wow me and here's what happened. Folks I can say with confidence that Brent and Dustin and Dustin's friends over at FMV exceeded my expectations. The one word I think I can use to describe the breakout rooms is inspirational and they almost forced you to be inspired because they gave you all the tools at your disposal. One of my favorite rooms was the lab and there was lots of white boarding. There was lots of room to be creative. And so the speaker in that room, you could start creating right there and then because you had the tools at your disposal. Laura McCullis session on micro niching in the classroom was another great example. Laura took advantage of all the Post-it notes and the whiteboards that were in the room. And so people were creating and documenting their journey to a micro niche right then and there. It's not something I had to start when they got back to their home office. They did it right then and there with the expert in the room in this incredibly designed room that, yes, it was a throwback to the high school classroom, but come on. For a lot of us, it's been decades since we've been in a high school classroom. It was a ton of fun. There are also other rooms that really spoke to the sessions and spoke to the different kinds of delegates. The playground, for example, was host to Alex Plaxton's Instagram session. It was perfect for that. And then you had these rooms with some really great seating assignments. Back in the playground, you had the seated hammocks, but then you got into the oasis in the gym, where there were couches as well as high boys that you could play with. So it really spoke to how people learn differently and how people use environments to learn. And so anyway, Dustin, Brent, your team at FMEV, you did a fantastic job of the breakout rooms. I was really impressed. Experience number three. Here it comes, my favorite main stage talk and breakout session. And my personal award goes to Laura McCullough, who did sessions on micro niching. This topic is so incredibly relevant for our industry. Her content can transcend a ton of industries. There's no doubt about it. But event planners, meeting partners, vendors, whatever your role is in the meetings industry, I highly recommend you look into Laura McCullough's work in micro niching. And as I used to call it, I used to call it defining your ideal client. But what Laura does is really drill down deep in the audience that you can serve best. Anyways, Laura, I loved your session. Stephen and I have started doing micro niching with our work at conference direct. So I feel like we're on the right track and you have just been so encouraging. I just loved your session. I really hope you're back next year. Experience number four, the connections. This show is attracting some incredible talent, like super huge talent. Hashtag David Adler has been there two years in a row. This is nuts. But it's also still small enough where you can connect with people, especially our colleagues and friends in Western Canada. A lot of my clients attend this show, which is awesome. I love seeing my clients out at meeting planner shows, but it's not often that I get to do that and connect with them. And Go West is a great way for me to see them. But there were also friends from all over that I could connect with. My good friend Alex at Little Bird To Old Media, who was also a main stage presenter, got to spend some time with him, got to spend a time with a ton of my partners from coast to coast. So thank you partners from coming to Go West to see us Western Canadian planners. Just a great way to connect with people. Experience number five was my personal opportunity to speak. So Go West kindly afforded me actually two opportunities to speak. I recorded a video with Alex Plaxton on the road to Go West about how introverts can connect at conferences. That was a lot of fun. Thank you, Alex. And then I was afforded the opportunity to present on my work with LinkedIn in their learning lounge, which was on the trade show floor on Tuesday. Loved getting ready for that. I loved presenting. I'm super hopeful that people took something concrete away from that session that they can apply to their own LinkedIn experience. Experience number six has to be the nightcap lounge. Now the nightcap lounge was hosted by Hotels Red Deer over at the West in Edmonton started each night at 9 p.m. This is really for those people who just need to unwind after a super crazy day of main stage talks and breakout sessions and parties, parties, parties. And you just want to sit down with a friend and have a glass of wine. Thank you Hotels Red Deer for doing the nightcap lounge. For introverts like me, it was perfect. It really was a highlight for me. I got to have some really great conversations in that room. So thank you. Friends, if you attended Go West, there's a chance I didn't touch on your highlights. I missed a lot, but I want to hear from you. Please either comment below this video or send me a note about what your highlights were. Because I'm sure the timelines team, they want to know what your highlights were as well so they can ensure that those things are included into next year's programming. When I'm not out gallivanting at all these event shows, I do end up getting some work done for my site selection clients. If you'd like to learn what Steven and I do in this vibrant events industry, hop on over to conferencesource.net and check out the resources we have there. We try and include resources that will help you with your day, your career, and your life as event professionals. Have a great week everyone. We'll see you next time. Bye for now.