Episode Summary:
Step inside the largest event show in the Pacific Northwest with Stuart Butler, president of Butler Seattle and executive producer of the Northwest Event Show (NES). Hosts Alysse Bryson and Libby Sundgren go behind the scenes to explore the evolution of the NES from its Portland roots to an international platform, Stuart’s journey through industry disruptions, and how genuine human connection and community collaboration are driving the PNW event scene forward. Stuart shares lessons learned, his philosophy on hospitality, and an exciting preview of what’s coming next.
Takeaways:
Human connection is essential: Bringing people together is the heart of event success.
Collaboration over competition: Community and networking drive the industry forward.
Resilience matters: Facing disruptions leads to growth and new opportunities.
Hospitality is a differentiator: Going above and beyond for guests sets events apart.
Personal connections fuel impact: Relationships and introductions spark real results.
Key Timestamps:
[02:18] – The origins and legacy of the Northwest Event Show
[05:21] – Evolving through challenges—dot-com bust, recession, and COVID
[07:04] – Balancing local roots with a growing global audience
[09:12] – Community over competition: the critical role of collaboration
[13:16] – Comeback stories: pulling off magic when things get messy
[16:46] – The tricky art of event messaging & lessons learned
[17:16] – How to activate a community and scale momentum
[20:21] – Elevating hospitality and meaningful connection in the industry
[26:23] – Storytelling, connections, and Stuart’s “superpower”
[28:53] – Why tighter spaces create more human energy
[29:27] – Expanding resources: guides, new experiences, and industry impact
[34:34] – Sneak peek: What to expect from the next Northwest Event Show
Resources & Links:
-Stuart Butler: LinkedIn
-Northwest Event Show: Website, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook
–Get on the list for the lowest ticket price for NES 2026!
-Alysse & Libby: Bios & LinkedIn
Connect with Us:
-Website: www.beatsworkingpodcast.com
-LinkedIn: @BEATS WORKING Show
-Instagram: @beatsworkingshow
-Facebook: @Beats Working Show
-YouTube: @BEATSWORKINGPODCAST
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:00]:
Anyone who’s been in the event industry for over three years, like, you’re a certain kind of crazy and we love you, Right? Like you have a certain kind of sickness that you just, like, you just can’t get enough of what the events industry community is, I think.
Stuart Butler [00:00:20]:
Yeah, boy, you need some rest, though. You got to. You need to. You need to recover from it. It’s a special person, but what a great. I don’t know. It feeds me. It feeds me.
Stuart Butler [00:00:34]:
It absolutely scratches. And it’s like being part of something that’s greater than yourself to contribute.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:41]:
Welcome to Beats Working Winning the Game of Events, where we share stories and strategies to turn any event or life moment into something unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:00:51]:
Events are wild and the people who work in them are some of the most resilient humans on earth. If you know, you know.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:58]:
So come with us behind the curtain for a look at their most memorable experiences.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:04]:
As they say, the show must go on. So let’s get on with the show. Welcome back to Beats Working Winning the Game of Events. Today’s guest is Stuart Butler, president of Butler Seattle and executive producer of the North Northwest Event Show. If you haven’t been, it’s amazing. One of our favorite events of the year. With over 30 years in leadership and more than 40 in the hospitality industry, Stuart is truly a visionary force in shaping the Pacific Northwest as a global destination for meaningful experiences. While Butler Seattle delivers premium transportation and event services, Stewart’s real superpower lies in storytelling.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:49]:
Most notably through his leadership in evolving the Northwest Event show into a must attend international platform. From championing regional character to building global connections, Stuart leads with heart, precision and purpose. Yes, he does. We love him. We’re so glad he’s here to share the behind the scenes blueprint for how events shape culture, community and business. Welcome to Beats Working Stuart.
Stuart Butler [00:02:12]:
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Alysse Bryson [00:02:14]:
And the crowd goes wild. The crowd goes wild.
Libby Sundgren [00:02:18]:
So before I ask you a couple questions about the Northwest Event show, can you just tell us how it started, where the idea came from? And I mean, it’s kind of a big deal. So how did you. How did it go from a thought to an actual event?
Stuart Butler [00:02:35]:
Well, I am an inheritor of the show. The originator of the show was Nance Marion Clifton. And Marian has passed. She passed a couple years ago. But this show is 31 years old and it actually started in Portland. Some people refer to. Actually I was talking to somebody, they go, oh yeah, we used to have this show called Bravo. And so that was the origination of the show.
Stuart Butler [00:03:03]:
And then Marian brought the show to Seattle and she actually, her partner stayed in Portland. So it became two shows. And so she’s been running, she’d been running this show for a very long time. And I happened to get involved in 2017 and I was like. And every time I was part of an association, whether it be Aylea or we started weddings in Woodville, every time I either started something, was part of something, I would say, hey, Marianne, I need you on my board. Because she was super. Her and her sister are super talented. So she would just be part of anything that I was doing.
Stuart Butler [00:03:45]:
They. Anytime I needed graphics or just something really professional, they. They were, they were part of our team. So we ended up just taking them as part of our team eventually and rolled them into what we were doing. Because I. The show was traditionally more of just a real trade show and I wanted, I thought it could be more. I mean, I thought it should be a conference and we needed to re. Reach out farther than our local audience.
Stuart Butler [00:04:14]:
And so I got involved in 2018 and of course, you know, we had amazing shows. 2018, 19. And then we had this little hiccup in the timeline. Little blip. A little blip. And so I think that, you know, it’s interesting. The whole evolution of our company has taken the. I.
Stuart Butler [00:04:39]:
I don’t care if it goes, you go all the way back to the 2000.com, 20089 recession Covid. Each time we’ve had a disruption, it’s changed our company. And Covid was no different. And so I think that we learn and we grow from it. And as much as it hurt, it forces us to do things that we normally wouldn’t have done. And so in hindsight, as much as it hurt, it also opens up your thought process and you have to become something different. So now we’re 31. This is our 31.
Stuart Butler [00:05:21]:
It’s a 31 year old show. And I couldn’t be more excited to where we’re going with the show and the possibilities because it’s taken us a long time to. Well, from 2018 to here. I’ve learned an awful lot because this is not my, necessarily my forte, if you know, my background. I. We started off as a valet company and you know, we would. At our peak, we were doing, you know, 800 events a year. So logistics is kind of my.
Stuart Butler [00:05:50]:
I think my specialty really is sales. My. And then I have my brother who’s more on the operational side, and then transportation. Now we’re running 60 plus. Vehicles in our transportation company. And again, 0809 changed us from a valet company to adding transportation. So that whole division came out of the recession. I definitely wouldn’t have gone that way as fast.
Stuart Butler [00:06:18]:
So that changed us. And then taking on the events industry, this is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I tell you what, if you’re in the events industry, I got so much respect for you of actually producing events. This is, I’m gonna, what is this, my eighth, ninth year? And I feel like I’m just, I’m just scratching the surface of really learning how to, how to do this.
Alysse Bryson [00:06:44]:
Well, let’s talk about that. Because as the Northwest event show evolves into an international platform, which is, you know, the direction it’s headed, how do you ensure the planning stays true to the Pacific Northwest roots and identity while also attracting a global audience? What does that look like?
Stuart Butler [00:07:04]:
Well, I think that number one, our priority is our current audience, right. Which is local and regional. And as we extend that invite out further, I think everybody’s just excited to embrace new people into the area because we all win from that. Right? So I don’t think there’s an, really an issue of having people from, you know, a larger or farther destination coming in because they’re the ones that are bringing events here and exposing us to new ideas and new resources. So I just think it’s a natural fit and we learn from each other. And so the more the merrier.
Libby Sundgren [00:07:49]:
I think that’s one really special thing about the event community. I mean, definitely here in the greater Seattle area, but also I’ve felt this in other places as well, that everyone’s ready to, you know, network, help each other, refer people. It’s a very friendly community based community, I guess.
Stuart Butler [00:08:15]:
Well, collaboration, right? It’s all collaboration, you know, community over competition. I mean, it’s a rising tide. This industry is absolutely rising tide. And we service, you know, the ecosystem is interesting because, you know, you have your suppliers and you have your planners and then you have your, you know, I’d say your event owners. And it’s super important that they’re connected. And the stronger the supplier industry is, the more we can serve. And so if there was a message I could tell to the, you know, event owners is, you know, their, is super important for their support because the stronger this industry is, the more we can serve and we are built to serve them. The corporate, you know, I mean, as much as we serve the social, you know, I mean, we have, you know, obviously we have World cup coming in and that’s going to really test us as a community and our resources.
Stuart Butler [00:09:12]:
But the, the stronger our industry, the stronger, you know, the better events, the better meanings we can, you know, produce. The, It’s a cycle that, that serves absolutely. And it constricts when we have hiccups or they pull back. Right. But we’ve seen this last couple years just this expansion of how important meetings and events are. And it’ll be interesting to see where in the next couple of years where that goes with trying to understand where truth is in the face to face and you know, what’s. So I think events are going to be really, really, really important and the human connection. And that’s where we’re leaning.
Stuart Butler [00:09:53]:
I mean, in fact, that’s, you know, if you think about where we are, where we’re heading with the Northwest event show, it’s all about human connection and face to face. And you’ll hear more and more about that and that story from us.
Alysse Bryson [00:10:06]:
Well, and we’ve said this on the show before, and I’m sure we’ll say it a hundred more times, but anyone who’s been in the event industry for over three years, like, you’re a certain kind of crazy and we love you. Right. Like you have a certain kind of sickness that you just, like, you just can’t get enough of what the events industry community is.
Stuart Butler [00:10:29]:
I think. Yeah, boy, you need some rest, though. You got to, you need to get, you need to recover from it. It’s a, it’s a special person. But what a, what a, what a great. I don’t know, it’s, it feeds me, it feeds me. It absolutely scratches, you know, and it’s like being part of something that’s greater than yourself to contribute, you know, even on the, whether it be the parking or transportation, I, I think we, we get to do some things that are, you know, supporting the corporate that we get to do or the even being part of a wedding. We’re such an integral, know, we’re such a key piece because even on the parking or transportation, just the little pieces we play, hey, if transportation is awful.
Stuart Butler [00:11:16]:
And it’s just there’s so many moving parts to an event. So I don’t know, I, I, I love it. I love the, the impact we get to have. I get a, I love the impact we get to have on people that come here from around the world that come visit. And I think it’s, I think that’s a message that I actually tell them. I think that a message to this industry is everybody in this industry, whether you’re from our team, a driver, the impact that each of us has is incredible. And if I could share any message that would be. The message is that each of us, as an individual, has an absolute massive impact, not just locally, but globally, from what we do and how we treat people.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:02]:
Yeah, I love that.
Alysse Bryson [00:12:05]:
Hey, sorry to interrupt. I promise you we will get right back to this amazing conversation, but first, here’s a quick word about classy problems. It’s part of our Sidekick Way ecosystem. Take a listen. Most event problems, not life or death, even though they feel like it, they’re classy problems.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:28]:
Moments when the AV guy ghosts, the keynote’s flight gets delayed, or the wi fi dies five minutes before showtime.
Alysse Bryson [00:12:35]:
But a classy problem isn’t a crisis. It’s your chance to get scrappy, creative, and win the day.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:43]:
Find yours@classyproblems.com because the show must go on. Speaking of moving parts, the Northwest event show has so many of them. Vendors, speakers, logistics experiences, many days, multiple locations. What is one moment? Like you said, nine years in, you’re still. You’re just scratching the surface, but one moment in these last eight or nine years where things got messy, but the magic still happened, because we love a comeback story.
Stuart Butler [00:13:16]:
I’m the messy, you’re the mess.
Libby Sundgren [00:13:19]:
Stuart, confession time. It is.
Stuart Butler [00:13:22]:
Stuart. So I’m learning. I think this year more than any, I’m learning to. Well, my team is trying to rein me in and say, not have these ideas so late in the game and try to implement, I think, the. The actual event, when you have professionals and you’re working with great partners, things are gonna. Things are gonna go how they go. And I think that’s just how, you know, any event goes. And so.
Stuart Butler [00:13:57]:
But I think. But the. What can we do to reduce those? And that is being ahead of the game. What can we actually accomplish? What can we do? Well, and those are the things that. I think that the lesson that I’m learning is, is being. Trying to be creative earlier and implementing or. Or crafting those experiences. But I got to tell you, you know, last year we did Sunset on the Salish Sea, and that thing came together very, very late, but it was awesome.
Stuart Butler [00:14:35]:
And sometimes those great ideas, as late as they are, and you, you know, you. The energy that you put into them, that. That. That I think sometimes is the energy and the magic that comes out of that too, because you’re so invested, and you’re just so, you know, and then it’s like, let’s see where that Goes. And last year’s, although it was on the night we were supposed to have baseball size.
Libby Sundgren [00:15:00]:
Hell, I was gonna say it was kind of meant to be because the weather was supposed to be insane. And then it was kind of beautiful, wasn’t it?
Stuart Butler [00:15:07]:
Yeah, exactly. It was. It was gorgeous until 7 o’. Clock. But then. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t, you know, but it was still an absolute beautiful evening.
Stuart Butler [00:15:17]:
On the Waterfront. Yeah, it was. It was really. It was. It was fantastic.
Alysse Bryson [00:15:21]:
When you say that event came together rather last minute. What. What’s the Runway? We’re talking 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 2 days, 60 days.
Stuart Butler [00:15:31]:
Let me put it this way. My last partner came in two days prior, you know, and we didn’t have. And we didn’t have everybody’s. What are you doing? We had 13 activations on the Waterfront. We didn’t have every activation, you know, from. What are you actually doing? So that we could post it. Marketing of that was really late, was really a challenge. And of course, in my mind I knew what I was saying and doing, but, you know, what people were hearing was another.
Stuart Butler [00:16:01]:
Right. So that was a leather learning curve of, you know, I was saying sunset on the Salishy. Of course, you know, the Salishy is the Puget Sound, which, you know, and since the people just thought, oh, this just another, you know, come down, watch the sunset. No, we had 13 different experiences. And I think the challenge there was then you trying to communicate, but you’re also throwing out incredible amount of communication to your audience. So they’re not. They’re not able to really consume it and understand it. And.
Stuart Butler [00:16:30]:
And I think that was the biggest challenge is that is really. I think it’s messaging, and everybody’s so busy that it’s messaging, so they take the moment to hear it and consume it and really understand it and then want to participate.
Libby Sundgren [00:16:46]:
That’s true. In an event that big, with so many components, the messaging would be difficult or is difficult. I mean, how do you. What have you found is the best way for you guys as a team, as a leadership team, as a board and a planning team to connect with the audience and to really make sure that they’re hearing what you’re trying to say?
Stuart Butler [00:17:16]:
I actually think it’s the network of people sharing. And I think this year I’m super excited because we have more just take. We’re really getting deep into Amazon, their network, and for them to share within their network to get the, you know, the admins and the planners from Amazon and Microsoft. It really is to me, getting that information to the. To them, to get them excited, to be able to disseminate the enthusiasm and the share. So that’s one way that we’re really working to share the messaging and then is through these networks. And then I would say that it’s been a process for us. The more that people get in, you know, come to the show, realize what the show’s about.
Stuart Butler [00:18:10]:
They’re. They’re. They’re our. They’re our message right there. Our messaging platform really is. See, it’s. And I think that’s something that I have a really. I was talking to my team about this.
Stuart Butler [00:18:18]:
It’s hard to actually have this conversation or talk that way to get people excited and activate people. And I think that’s one of the things that we really need to do to grow the show to where we want it to is it’s been a slow process. But how do you do it in a. We have some pretty big goals, and how do you do it in a way that you can compound or you can bring the timeline forward, say, oh, I want to reach this level in five years, but really, how do we reach that level in two years? And I think that, me personally not being. I know I have a tough time putting myself, just. I’m not that type of person. Put myself. I think we have to actually speak in a different way to activate people.
Stuart Butler [00:19:05]:
I mean, the show is incredible and people talk about it, but we need to activate them, and we need them to bring their energy and their. Their enthusiasm and to. And when. When other people hear that, that’s what they’re going to. That’s what I think they’re going to really go, I’ve got to be there. This is something I’ve got to go be part of.
Libby Sundgren [00:19:25]:
Well, I think that was one of the coolest things that Elise and I talked about many times at the event and after the event this year was just the tangible energy you could feel in the room was just awesome. And it can be really hard to find that at events, especially with as many people as were there, but it was just good vibes in every part of the show, at every booth that we went to, just with the interactions we had with people. It was. I mean, it was really cool. It was really something neat to experience as a participant.
Stuart Butler [00:20:04]:
So thank you. Well, I think we need to double down on that. And we need to. And then we need to ask for that. Right? Ask for that. Our audience. And it’s not just an audience, but this, this is what we’re doing. I really think what we’re doing is, is super important.
Stuart Butler [00:20:21]:
This isn’t just about, you know, this is, this is growing business, this is growing our community. This is connecting people and you know, it’s just not a show. You know, I’m. We’re really trying to create a movement. In fact, one of the things that we’re working on this year is I was just reading this book. I don’t know if you guys have read it. Unreasonable Hospitality.
Libby Sundgren [00:20:43]:
It’s on our list. You recommended it to us and we just started.
Stuart Butler [00:20:47]:
All right, well that is a super powerful book. And I think with. With AI coming and all the changes and we’re. I think we’re such a tech heavy area and the more I try to stay on top of what’s going on economically and, and how’s that going to impact business? How’s that going to impact our community? I, I really think that we’re going to need. We need to be double down on hospitality and the connections that we create. And I think that we’re going to be the. Well, the Northwest adventure will be heavily focused on how do we create those connections, but also with a very hospitality focused. I think that one of the initiatives that I have is how do we elevate our hospitality as a community? And I’m like just how do we treat each other? Right.
Stuart Butler [00:21:35]:
And as. But it spills over in its. It spills over and you know, when we’re just. I walk the waterfront heads up. And when you connect with people just eye to eye, I mean it’s. That’s part of community, right? Just connecting with people and, and just recognizing and recognizing somebody for who they are walking. And I, I don’t know. I, I think that’s.
Stuart Butler [00:21:59]:
I think that’s something I want to really elevate in our, in this area of how are we. How are we showing up? You know, and so you’ll hear more about how. And even. In fact, I was talking to Dan about this who’s by the way, I don’t know if you guys know, but I’m wrangling Dan to come be on my board. This is Dan. Yeah, so. And I, and I think that the impact that we can have not only locally and regionally, but on a. The message of globally is that it’s just part of our humanity and how we treat each other and how we connect.
Stuart Butler [00:22:43]:
Our industry is so critical in this. Right. And we’re a leader in this. This is what we do. We bring people together. We Bring people together. And it’s like, what if we were just, you know, that was our superpower as a community, is we’re leading that way. I think that.
Stuart Butler [00:23:01]:
So there’s another book I was just reading and it’s on the science of scaling. So I was thinking about this. Well, what would it take to scale hospitality? And I’m like, Because I think that’s a pretty cool concept. If we could really scale hospitality in our region, what would that look like? As we invite the world to come experience and the Pacific Northwest. And as you, you know, it’s just not Seattle. We’re the gateway to the Pacific Northwest. And I think that, so I think that’s going to be an initiative coming out of the Northwest event show that I, I’m super excited about. So when I read that book, I was like, yeah, this is, we need, this is some.
Stuart Butler [00:23:44]:
We need to be right here.
Alysse Bryson [00:23:45]:
Well, I feel like you just answered a question I haven’t even asked yet. But like at the end of the event when the lights go down at the show and the booths are packed up, what does success look like? And how do you know you made an. But I feel like you just answered that it’s making the Pacific Northwest the most hospitable place on the planet. That’s all.
Stuart Butler [00:24:07]:
Wouldn’t that be. Yeah, there you go. That’s all we’re trying.
Alysse Bryson [00:24:10]:
Yeah, that’s it. No big deal.
Libby Sundgren [00:24:12]:
No big deal.
Alysse Bryson [00:24:13]:
5 year. 5 year plan should be fine.
Stuart Butler [00:24:16]:
Yeah. And if you read the science of scaling, that means, well, you can accomplish it faster if you actually bring the timeline forward. Say, well, if we want to make that in three years, what do, what are the, what are the steps we have to take? They’re different than if you’re saying, oh, that’s a ten year goal. Making that a three year goal is completely different. Your steps and your just your whole processes changes. So I’m really kind of diving into that. But you know, the experiences and you know, Will Godara with. He’s talking about, you know, and it’s Maya Angelou, how we make people feel.
Stuart Butler [00:24:47]:
Right. This is about, this is, you know, ultimately and the book is not just about talking about hospitality. It’s really, it’s a great business book because it’s, it’s also, you know, within our businesses, how we make each other feel, how we make our team feel. And it’s so I really highly recommend it. There’s just a ton of great information. It’s so inspirational. And there’s a. References.
Stuart Butler [00:25:13]:
There you go.
Libby Sundgren [00:25:14]:
There you go, there it is.
Stuart Butler [00:25:15]:
There’s references, product placements, references to even local, you know, Brian Canalist, who will met and, you know, wet met in school. And so there’s some references to the, you know, to Seattle in it. So it felt. It was a really. It was a cool read.
Libby Sundgren [00:25:31]:
I love that. I love it. Okay, one more question before we wrap. You are not just producing events and, you know, managing logistics. You are building relationships. And we’ve talked about that in this episode. If anybody knows you, they have felt that, I would think just by speaking with you once or just by making eye contact on the Waterfront. But can you share a behind the scenes moment from the show that shows the power of putting people and storytelling first? Because you, I feel like, really embody, like we said, like we’ve been talking about this idea of unreasonable hospitality and really putting the people first.
Stuart Butler [00:26:23]:
So there’s a gentleman, Zig Ziglar, and he. This is old school, he’s long, but he had this saying, if you can have everything you all you want in life if you help enough people get what they want. And so my favorite part of the show is meeting people and going, oh my gosh, you need to know. And I get to walk them over to the other people you know there and connect them and say and start the conversation. And if there’s anything that I do, that’s what I do. That’s my superpower, is connecting people and seeing who needs to connect with who and introducing people that just haven’t met but need to know each other because they are amazing people and they have their. Their services are just aligned or maybe the way they talk or, you know, they just need to know each other because crazy things happen when you show up and you connect people that just start having a conversation and you’re curious and you learn about the other person and all of a sudden you find this alignment of where you would have never found it. That, to me, is the greatest part of the show is for me, you know, personally is creating these connections.
Stuart Butler [00:27:49]:
And I don’t know that. I think there’s opportunities everywhere. And when you do that, ultimately that’s the creative part, right? I think that’s the creative, the innovation. And you just, the more you do that, opportunities just continue to pop up. And we’re fostering that. We’re fostering that. And I know that we had a planner that she emailed afterwards. She had just booked 13 vendors from the show and stuff that she hadn’t known about.
Stuart Butler [00:28:20]:
And so she was super. That, by the way, at least that’s, you know, talk about a win, you know. And when you guys come back, the energy. People talk. I mean, I walked the show and I could feel the energy, and I’m like that.
Alysse Bryson [00:28:32]:
It was different this year. It was different.
Stuart Butler [00:28:35]:
You know, what was funny is that we were at the. We were at the summit the year before, right? And we’re 200,000 square feet before, and we were a hundred thousand square feet this year. Same number of people, smaller space.
Alysse Bryson [00:28:52]:
It made the difference.
Stuart Butler [00:28:53]:
Made the difference. And so we’ll be back there again this year, but I think that the space. We’ll have a little bit more space this year. But I think compressing people where their. Their physicality is, is. That’s part of it, right? Just the energy.
Alysse Bryson [00:29:10]:
That’s the human connection. That’s the literal energy that people feed off of.
Stuart Butler [00:29:15]:
Exactly. And so, yeah, I think that was a huge. That was a huge difference this year. And we need to. We. We need to double down on that. And we’re. One of the things we’re working on is.
Stuart Butler [00:29:27]:
Is also bringing more. It’s just not the show, but it’s. We. Of course, we have our guides, the Northwest event guide and the Northwest Wedding Guide. These are resources, right? So we’re. We’re working on bringing these resources to. To all of our, you know, to. To the reach of the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Stuart Butler [00:29:43]:
But, you know, it’s funny that you kind of going looping back to your first question. You talk about the local and versus the international. We’re only. I would argue that we’ve only tapped probably 5% of the local that would benefit from attending our show.
Alysse Bryson [00:30:00]:
Sure, that’s fair.
Stuart Butler [00:30:02]:
This industry, the meeting and event industry, touches every vertical. Every vertical uses. And if you’re not, you know, they should be, because they’re talking. You’re talking about culture, you’re talking about, you know, client events. You’re talking about. I don’t care what everybody’s using, meeting or should be using, meetings, events in a way to connect with your audience or your team or product launch, whatever it is. This industry supports all that. And I think that’s a, you know, we need to be sharing that and teaching that.
Stuart Butler [00:30:37]:
I think that helps drive economy, that helps drive this industry.
Libby Sundgren [00:30:41]:
Well, your mentality towards, you know, your favorite part of the show and how you measure success, I think is clearly really trickling down, because I think, as I’ve said, Elise and I felt it. It really. It’s not a show where you feel like people are clamoring after you to like, you know, sell you a shoe or something. I’ve never been to a show like that, to be clear. But it really, like, yes, everybody there has, you know, a business. They’re a vendor of some kind. They have some kind of connection to the industry. But it really is a show that is so connection based and community based that even if you’re, you know, afraid of going in and meeting people, I think it’s, you know, just such a great, great place to start for.
Libby Sundgren [00:31:32]:
If you haven’t been to an event show, this is definitely the one I’d start with.
Stuart Butler [00:31:36]:
Really appreciate that. And tickets will be on sale soon, so if you want to learn more, you can go to Northwest event and NW eventshow.com NW eventshow.com you can register your interest. And when we do put tickets on for sale, you’ll get absolute, the best price. We’ll get. We’ll put that out there right away. So. But yeah, I’m just, I’m excited for creating something that really just, you know, brings people together and amplifies, you know, connection. Because I think that’s what it’s all, you know, to me, that’s what it’s all about.
Stuart Butler [00:32:09]:
That’s where, you know, and as we move forward, that’s where trust is, right? As. As I try to get off these platforms, I’m not on very many platforms. I don’t spend a lot of time, but I was just on. I was on a platform, social platform the other day and I’m like, this is, this is. You could just see more and more of. I’m gonna go with untruth or the way that they’re presenting. And I’m like, it just, it’s becoming. I mean, they can pump it so fast.
Stuart Butler [00:32:40]:
And you’re like, where’s reality? Where is reality? And I think that, I think we get to double down and share that and bring it together and say, this is what’s real. Right? This is all about connection, trust. And so I’m really excited about the future of the show and what we’re doing. And I really thank you for having me on today.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:05]:
We love having you on here. We’ll have a part two once we get closer to the show for a little sneak peek episode. We’ll definitely be linking information about this in the show notes we’ll be posting about it. We buy tickets as soon as they go on sale.
Alysse Bryson [00:33:18]:
Because Libby does. She always does. It’s like usually like October, end of October, November.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:24]:
She’s on it.
Alysse Bryson [00:33:25]:
She’s on it.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:26]:
I Am a fan. So I will be posting about it, sharing it with my people. And we are just so thankful to have you on Stuart.
Stuart Butler [00:33:36]:
Thank you. Just real quick so I can I share a little bit about what’s the three days that’s happening? Yeah, actually it might be four days now. So we’ll. Yeah, I know. It’s like we’re trying to get it done early. So I don’t last the idea man. Right. So we have culinary connections, probably happening on Monday night.
Stuart Butler [00:33:56]:
So those are the diner rounds. Last year we were seven different. And the connections there. We’re working on this one called a Supra. And if you haven’t had a Supra dinner, this they toast. It is incredible. It’s very intentional how they bring people together. And it’s also just the energy and the, the conversations.
Stuart Butler [00:34:15]:
I would say kind of a Priya, you know, a lot of Priya Parker, if you’re familiar with her intentionality. It’s that type of event. But it’s a lot of toasting. It’s just. And everybody is very organic the way that they bring an authentic. They bring themselves forward and share. It’s super cool. That’ll be on Monday.
Stuart Butler [00:34:34]:
On Tuesday, we’ll have education on Tuesday. Well, we’re looking at doing Sunset on the Salish Sea Part 2. And now that the Seattle waterfront fully open. And if you haven’t been down there, it’s gorgeous. It is gorgeous. It’s the best. It is. It is world class.
Stuart Butler [00:34:50]:
It is so amazing. So super excited to have that again. Day three. Of course we’re going to be a one day show this year, not a two day. So we’re only going to have one day. And that energy should be even more because that means everybody’s going to be on one.
Libby Sundgren [00:35:05]:
We’ll be there all day long from start to close.
Stuart Butler [00:35:08]:
Yep. And then that evening we’ll, we’ll probably do a, an event ceremony, some kind of a gathering and we’ll do. I think we’re going to do events like we did or not events but awards like we did last year, but maybe a full award ceremony. We’ve got somebody that just came onto our board who’s been doing events in Dubai for 20 years. And he’s like, we need to do, we need to do these awards. And I’m like, okay, well as long as you lead it.
Libby Sundgren [00:35:36]:
If they’re. If it’s good enough for Dubai, it’s good enough for Seattle. Okay.
Stuart Butler [00:35:41]:
He’s doing some big stuff and I’m like, welcome aboard. So super excited about that. And then Thursday, we’re going to do experiences all over Seattle. So we’re going to do, whether it be ballooning tours, you know, maybe a Woodenville wine tour, but we’re going to. We’re going to have a collection of tours and experiences happening all day throughout the city that you can join and be part of.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:05]:
Oh, that’s awesome. That’s a really good idea because there were a lot of, you know, people we met at the show where if that had been an option, I think we would have been like, oh, yeah, we’ll definitely do this tomorrow. This is.
Stuart Butler [00:36:17]:
Yeah. So how do we activate the city? So we’ll activate the city, and we’ll be doing experiences that you can join in on and go see and, you know, have new experiences.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:27]:
Well, thank you, Stuart. We are so excited for the show. It’s already on my calendar, as Elise said. Or her calendar, too, because I manage hers as well sometimes.
Alysse Bryson [00:36:35]:
She does, yeah.
Stuart Butler [00:36:36]:
April 28, 29, and 30.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:38]:
All right, folks, well, that is a wrap for this episode of Beats Working. If you’ve got an idea or you want to reach out, email us at infoatsworking Show. Remember that every detail matters, every moment counts, and no matter what, the show must go on.
Alysse Bryson [00:36:53]:
Thanks for listening to Beats Working, winning the game of events, where we explore what it takes to make moments unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:59]:
If you’re leaving with a little more inspiration, a little more perspective, and a big sideache from all of the laughing at our funny jokes, then we’ve done our job.
Alysse Bryson [00:37:09]:
Beats Working is a work. P2P production. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platforms.
Libby Sundgren [00:37:19]:
Your support helps us keep the magic going.
