SANCTUARY is a leadership and creative development experience designed to renew your vision, deepen your connections, and sharpen your professional edge. This is a day to restore balance and nourish your mind, body, and creative spirit, while expanding how you lead, collaborate, and build sustainable success in a fast-moving industry. Through honest conversation, interactive learning, and intentional moments of stillness, you’ll strip back the noise and explore what it really means to thrive, not just deliver in the business of events.

Designed by Canadian event leaders Stacy Wyatt, Carly Silberstein, and Connie Cay-Santos, SANCTUARY blends strategy, creativity, and soul work in one powerful experience; holding space for you, your team, your clients, and your balance.

Kick off CSE Live 2026 in true 007 style with an unforgettable night of glamour, intrigue, and high-stakes fun at the Great Canadian Casino Resort. Mingle with fellow attendees, exhibitors, and industry friends over dazzling cocktails, indulgent bites, and a little friendly casino play. Expect Bond-worthy surprises, themed entertainment, and plenty of chances to connect, shaken, not stirred.

Join us for breakfast, opening remarks, and a powerhouse keynote to kick off EventFest at CSE Live! and make it an amazing day. Then dive into a full day of learning, discovery, and entertainment, where inspiration flows seamlessly between the Main Stage and the buzzing exhibit floor.

Let’s get REAL about pricing, profit, and financial power in our industry. We’re talking about models, margins, and mindsets, so you can stop apologizing for your rates and start building work that sustains you.

Dive into how to design experiences that feel like full worlds, not just rooms, from entrance choreography and sensory cues to narrative arcs that pull guests through the space with intention (and Instagrammable moments that don’t feel try-hard).

Learn how to use AI as a practical teammate for brainstorming concepts, building agendas, drafting scripts, mapping show flows, and generating templates so you can move faster without losing your creative fingerprint.

What if you could market your business and grow your brand without a full marketing team? With one smart human and the right AI workflows, you can dramatically increase your reach, ship campaigns faster, and stay in front of the audiences who actually buy.

This session shows entrepreneurs, agencies, and event pros how to use AI as a force multiplier in your marketing, from content and campaigns to sales funnels and follow-up. You’ll see how to turn one idea into a month of assets, keep your pipeline warm while you’re in delivery mode, and support real revenue growth without burning out your team (or yourself).

From global conflicts and contentious leadership, to climate emergencies, economic whiplash and culture wars, we’re designing events amid constant volatility. This panel explores what it means to create gatherings that are safe, grounded, and meaningful when the world feels anything but. Senior producers, brand leaders, and mental health/DEI voices dig into how current events shape content decisions, security planning, language choices, sponsorship ethics, and attendee care. You’ll walk away with practical strategies for reading the room, protecting your teams, navigating sensitive topics with integrity, and building events that offer clarity and connection instead of just more noise.

Experience the excitement as the CSELive show floor comes to life! Explore innovative exhibits, sample fabulous catering by Toronto’s top chefs and pop-ups, network with industry pros, and discover game-changing solutions to elevate your event success.

Schedule: 10:30 am to 4;30 pm

Coming soon, our keynote speaker announcement

Step into a simulated control room and run through real-time “what could go wrong” scenarios — AV failures, talent delays, weather, VIP drama — and practice communicating, rerouting, and protecting the guest experience under pressure.

A fast-paced crash course to help you learn how to influence decisions, rally teams, and drive change even when you’re not the most senior person in the room.

Coming soon, our keynote speaker announcement

Dig into the realities of leading humans in high-pressure environments. From mental health and psychological safety to recognition and feedback so your teams feel protected, seen, and willing to go the distance with you.

Transform this year’s biggest ideas into bold, unforgettable experiences that captivate your audience. By harnessing emerging trends, deep audience insights, and clear business objectives, we can create dynamic event concepts that not only inspire confidence but also secure stakeholder buy-in.

Explore how to design events as strategic levers for culture, brand, and business transformation — not just “one-off experiences” — and learn how to articulate that impact to stakeholders who only see line items.

The live event landscape is shifting fast — and those who adapt will lead. From economic disruption to AI innovation, evolving audiences to rising expectations, the power dynamics of our industry are being rewritten in real-time.

In this high-impact, solution-focused panel, we’re bringing together bold voices and forward-thinkers to explore what’s driving the next era of live experiences — and how you can stay ahead of the curve.

What We’re Taking About:

• The Real Drivers of Innovation: Internal pressures, cultural shifts, and creative sparks fuelling bold new ideas
• The Economic Reality Check: What planners should know about the next 12–24 months
• Growth Zones & Business Models: Where opportunity is rising — and how to harness it
• Culture & Conscious Design: How DEI, sustainability, wellness, and food trends are shaping smarter experiences
• AI, Automation & Tech: What’s hype, what’s happening, and how to integrate it with purpose
• Designing for 2026: Must-have elements for future-proofing your events
• The Evolving Audience: How personalization, community, and hybrid thinking are redefining what attendees expect

This is your opportunity to hear directly from industry trailblazers, gain practical insights, and connect with the movement shaping the future of events in Canada and beyond.

That’s a wrap on another fantastic CSE Live Eventfest. But is it? There’s always an after-party somewhere… ask at the CSE booth on the show floor for this year’s private pop-up party location.