When there wasn’t a micro-skills session taking place in the Snap Learning Spot at this year’s Great Ideas Conference, Business Events Canada made sure that the area was still buzzing with activity. BEC worked with several of its partners to fill the time with fun and ­engaging networking opportunities for attendees.

“Rather than getting people all spread out and going their different ways between educational sessions, we wanted to encourage them to stick around and have some fun, have a drink, and make it sort of like a meeting lounge,” says Danielle Foisy, director of Northeast sales development for BEC. “At the same time, we wanted to liven things up and get everyone engaged in the space.”

The activities, designed to represent several Canadian destinations, included creating Facebook profile photos featuring famous Canadian landmarks; sampling poutine, a famous Canadian dish; playing in a mini-hockey tournament; taking photos with dinosaurs on a green screen; sipping afternoon tea; and making smoothies with a bike-powered blender.

Spreading the activities out over the duration of the conference meant attendees would have a different experience each time they came back.

“We wanted to build a hub of excitement,” Foisy says. “For us, it’s great to be able to work with people who understand the need for engagement and are willing to try different ways to do so.”

BEC partners who participated included Tourisme Montréal, Ottawa Tourism, Tourism Toronto, Travel Alberta, Tourism Van­couver, and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

(Bjorn Andren/Alamy/Thinkstock)