Meet Minneapolis, the city’s convention and visitors bureau that, among many other things, operates the Minneapolis Convention Center, provides planners with tons of information about the city’s considerable hospitality assets year-round. That said, Christy Loy, Meet Minneapolis’ senior vice president of destination sales and services, spearheads an annual gathering that engages area planners differently—the Speakers & Sessions event at the Minneapolis Convention Center, filled with in-person experiences. The third annual Speakers & Sessions was held Nov. 24 last year at the convention center.
“We wanted to create an opportunity for planners to experience the city’s hospitality for themselves,” says Loy, who works with her team each year to put together Speakers & Sessions for dozens of area planners. Her team also hosted a Sip ’n’ Bloom flower-arranging social event last August. “They were good opportunities to present our convention center in an experiential way,” she says.
Speakers & Sessions features free TED Talk-style activities that offer planners a way to earn continuing education credits for their Meeting Professionals International Certified Meeting Professional credentials. At last year’s event, keynoters discussed fostering a feedback culture and thriving in the age of artificial intelligence, and planners spent the afternoon mixing mocktails with Minneapolis-based Kelber Catering and relaxing with a light-and-sound bath under the convention center domes led by the Dayton at Gaviidae YMCA-Downtown Minneapolis.
“Part of what we’re doing here is showcasing different speakers planners can use for their events,” Loy explains. “We work with a speaker agency that also is a partner of ours to identify speakers on various topics. Meeting planners see a sneak preview of how they present, as well as of their messaging.”
Loy says Meet Minneapolis will offer another social gathering focused on one aspect of planning (topic to be determined) in summer this year, plus the fourth annual Speakers & Sessions event on Nov. 23, 2026, the Monday before Thanksgiving.
“We have a professional, well-rounded meeting planner community [in the Twin Cities and outstate], and they really invest in each other,” Loy says. “I think that’s why they enjoy the Speakers & Sessions event so much. We are proud to be able to host such a great group of people.”
