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Marisa Uluski Our work brings us to a lot of different kinds of events. Whether it’s a large scale corporate conference or an exclusive non-profit or higher education experience. But one recent event that we attended was formatted differently than anything we’ve ever seen.
Phil and I recently had the opportunity to attend Let’s Go Upstate: an event for higher education marketing professionals to network and reset in a smaller, retreat-like setting. The co-creators of Let’s Go Upstate, Mallory Willsea and Ashley Budd, wanted to capitalize on the moments from typical events where you’re casually sitting down for a drink and conversation with a peer in between sessions. Their focus was to bring attendees in to, yes, learn and network, but do it in a way that felt more personalized and intimate. This meant putting an emphasis on wellness and experience alongside sessions and programming. This also meant not giving attendees an agenda, encouraging them to fully embrace the Let’s Go Upstate experience. Something that would cause most event organizers and attendees to panic!
Over the course of 3 days, attendees had the chance to learn and grow together through “typical” conference activities like sessions and panels, but also through activities like sound baths and breathwork, jaunts through Saratoga Springs, yoga and spin classes, and a pizza making class. Even the “typical” conference activities had a different feeling than most conferences because of the small cohort size. This allowed attendees to actively participate in the conversation with speakers, rather than sitting in a hotel ballroom for a larger scale stage presentation.
Speaking of hotels, the lodging part of this experience is another part of what made it so unique. All of the attendees stayed together at a boutique hotel in Saratoga Springs. The atmosphere of this hotel helped foster the relaxed vibe that Let’s Go Upstate was striving for. Attendees could relax together for a drink on the front porch, have casual conversations in the parlor in front of the fireplace, or sit down together for a delicious breakfast downstairs. Not to mention this hotel had a free 24/7 snack bar including homemade goodies. As anyone who runs events will tell you, keeping people well fed is a huge part of the attendee experience!
As I mentioned, the agenda included activities like jaunts around Saratoga Springs, wellness and fitness activities and a pizza making class. These all fed the goal of ensuring attendees could learn and grow in a more relaxed setting. Starting off the day with a yoga class, a cold plunge, or a spin class can help prime peoples’ minds for learning. Making pizzas or walking to the bookstore with peers can create memories or even lead to conversations you didn’t expect! And taking the time to end the day with a sound bath or breathwork can allow people to take some time for themselves personally, which in turn impacts how they work.
Even our involvement in this event was unique. Phil and I participated in the retreat as attendees, but I was also there in a content capture capacity! We snapped photos, recorded interviews, captured b-roll, edited real-time social reels, and set up a podcast station for attendees to record content. We even set up a confessional station in a secluded part of the hotel so attendees could freely record whatever content they wanted. The goal was to create content that captured the impact and differentiating factors of this event. Whether it be a feel-good highlight reel post-event to remind attendees of their experience, or social reels to create a feeling of FOMO for those who were not in this cohort.
So, why am I writing this blog? Besides the fact that we got the chance to experience the retreat for ourselves and create content along the way, this event is an interesting case study into how event organizers can give their attendees the most memorable and meaningful experiences. As the person who had the chance to interview many of the attendees myself, I got to see and hear first hand how impactful this experience was for attendees in this first cohort. Because of the way the event was set up, attendees could learn in a relaxing environment, and speak freely about their experiences in the industry. They left the retreat feeling refreshed and ready to return to work with new insights and ideas from their peers or sponsors. They also left with a new “toolkit” of 30 fellow attendees that they can turn to whenever they need someone outside of their institution. As a member of the Let’s Go Upstate spring 2026 cohort What’s App group chat, I can tell you that everyone has kept in touch and uses these connections as a sounding board for issues at work or new ideas!
If you’re an event organizer reading this, wondering how you can boost ROI for attendees and create experiences they’ll be talking about long after the event, it could be worth it to consider some of the key elements of a retreat like Let’s Go Upstate.
