EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
All registered attendees are welcome, including Exhibitors.
Wednesday, December 3 | 8:30 am – 10:00 am
Fair Under Fire: Crisis Communications & Decision Making Workshop
Colorado Convention Center
This intensive 90-minute hands-on workshop prepares administrators, staff, and volunteers from
fairs of all sizes to respond effectively during high-stakes crises. Participants will work
through real-world scenarios in small groups, developing actual communication templates and
decision-making frameworks they can implement immediately at their events. If you're traveling
with it, bring your computer - we'll actively work in groups to edit and refine living documents to
create helpful takeaways for four critical scenarios: active shooter/security threats, animal health and
biosecurity, ride incidents, and severe weather.
Limited to 60 participants. Pre-registration required. Additional Fee.
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Thursday, December 4 | 8:00 am - Noon MST
GOT FOOTING!
National Western Facilities
The introduction to arena footing for multi-use arenas. Learn about different footing depths and ways to protect your footing during a motorsports event. Presented by the faculty of the League of Agricultural & Equine Centers.
Limited to 50 participants. Pre-registration required. Additional Fee.
Thursday, December 4 | 8:00 am - 11:30 am MST
Sponsorship Reimagined: Your Transformational Approach to Growth
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Ready to revolutionize your fair's revenue potential and marketing impact?
This high-energy masterclass isn't just about sponsorship—it's about unleashing transformational growth that will redefine how you think about partnerships, storytelling, and value creation. Whether you're an industry newcomer or seasoned professional, if you're asking, "How can we accomplish more, in less time, easier?" this session is your answer.
Discover the tremendous opportunity that fairs possess as powerful marketing platforms in today's experience-hungry marketplace. You'll learn to craft and tell your fair's compelling story with confidence, establish undeniable value propositions, and position your event as the must-have partnership for forward-thinking brands.
This masterclass combines fundamental strategy with cutting-edge innovation, giving you the navigation tools and actionable frameworks to drive both immediate results and long-term success. We'll dive deep into creativity that captures attention, innovation that sets you apart, and how to build a supportive culture that sustains growth momentum.
You'll walk away with:
1. Revenue-generating sponsorship strategies that work immediately
2. Powerful storytelling frameworks that sell your fair's unique value
3. Creative activation ideas that sponsors can't resist
4. A roadmap for building lasting, profitable partnerships
5. The confidence to transform challenges into growth opportunities
This isn't just professional development—it's your pathway to becoming a sponsorship powerhouse in the fair industry. Get ready for three hours of game-changing insights, practical tools, and the energy to fuel your transformational journey!
This session also includes a pre-convention virtual workshop for those registered at that time.
Presented by Paula Beadle, Sponsorship Marketing Association.
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Limited to 50 participants. Pre-registration required. Additional Fee.
Thursday, December 4 | 8:00 am - Noon MST
Collaboration and Creativity
Clyfford Still Museum
Hear from the co-curators of “Tell Clyfford I Said ‘Hi’”: An Exhibition Curated by Children of the Colville Confederated Tribes, Bailey Placzek and Nicole Cromartie, on building relationships and trust with communities. The Clyfford Still Museum’s curatorial and educational staff collaborated with young children (ages three to fourteen years old) and
teachers from partner schools and childcare centers on the Colville Confederated Tribes Reservation in Washington State, on every level of the exhibition, including artwork selection and arrangement, object interpretation and gallery text, and interactive space.
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Arrival, breakfast, coffee, and networking
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Workshop on collaborative practices with Bailey and Nicole
10:10 am - 11:00 am
Gallery workshops on innovation and creative thinking
11:00 am - 11:30 am
Free gallery exploration and departure
Limited to 50 participants. Pre-registration required. Additional Fee.
Thursday, December 4 | 8:00 am - 12:30 pm
Fair Life on the Wild Side: Lessons from the Denver Zoo
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Join us for an unforgettable field trip to the Denver Zoo, where the worlds of fairs and zoos overlap in some wildly unexpected ways. This educational experience brings together a panel of zoo professionals who, believe it or not, face many of the same challenges fair folks do — from digital ticketing and guest operations to event logistics, public safety, and even educational displays.
You'll hear how they manage it all “on the wild side,” with insights on everything from animal welfare to crowd control, conservation to concessions. Whether you're wrangling goats or juggling concerts and corn dogs, there’s plenty of crossover to explore and ideas to take home.
Get ready to think outside the barn and take a walk on the wilder side of fair management, you might just leave inspired (and maybe with a new favorite animal fact or two).
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Limited to 100 participants. Pre-registration required. Additional Fee.