HappilyFest – a Person-Centered Event

I had the great pleasure of attending an unusual event that, I believe, foretells the future of events in many ways. In August, I attended HappilyFest: Reinvention. Happily is an unusual organization led by the maverick/rule-breaker, Sarah Shewey. Sarah has created a robust network of freelancers and contractors to help agencies and brands design and build brand experiences.

Billed as “a summit for experience economy pioneers to connect with each other, explore new cultural frontiers, and empower the next gen to think more critically about the social, economic and environmental impacts of when people gather”, HappilyFest was also an experience designed to provoke thought and inspire people who make a living doing just that.

I have attended events and conferences meant for the Experiential/Event industry, and I have to say, most of them are fairly run-of-the-mill conferences, and usually without the budget, or flair, of what we often do for our clients. This event, however, was different. And that was by design.

The agenda was amorphous, with overlapping sessions/experiences offering a variety of ways to experience the message of “Reinvention”.

As Shewey puts it: “As I went through the curation process and spoke with our presenters, I realized quickly that some folks would be better as tour guides - so we made field trips. Others better in roundtables. Others better as demos. And others as performances or embodied workshops.” All adding up to a rich set of experiences that, if an attendee chose to make the effort, would appreciate the variety and flexibility.

“This variety of programming formats really brought the whole multi-track idea to a new level.” Sarah went on to say. “It made it possible for there [to be] multiple ways to learn that were fun for everyone. Gen Z'ers loved the beanbag performance room. Millennials loved the 1:1 coaches’ corner. Elders found comfort in the familiarly structured demos, lunches and roundtables. And, most of all, everyone loved dipping their toe into other waters and being okay with stepping out and into something else if it wasn't their cup of tea.”

While I am learning to embrace the moniker of “elder”, I loved that the agenda and options as they gave me the respect and leeway to create the event that worked best for me. (I did like the beanbag chair performance space – but I mostly stood ??.)

As a presenter, I very much enjoyed the “up-close and personal” style of engaging with an audience. While the group was smaller than many I have spoken with, it was clear that everyone in that circle wanted to be there and was actively engaged in the conversation .

While HappilyFest was at times confusing and a little too offbeat for my tastes, overall, I found the experience to be refreshing and fun. I learned a lot; especially how various age groups like to engage. And the audience clearly received a lot of value, from my perspective.

Events are changing. It’s our job to embrace that change and, indeed, lead it. As Sarah and Happily are already doing.

#happilyfest #personcenteredevents #eventprofs #evolvingevents