Meet Us After Hours: Your Guide to Parties, Receptions + Celebrations

September 23, 2026

Join us October 22–24 for the 2026 SEGD Conference Experience Kansas City, and discover where we’ll gather, connect, and celebrate beyond the sessions.

Meet Me in the Middle doesn’t stop when the sessions end.

Some of the best parts of the SEGD Conference Experience happen between the scheduled moments: reconnecting with someone you haven’t seen since last year, finally meeting a collaborator in person, continuing a conversation that started during a session, or finding yourself in a room full of people who understand exactly what you do.

This year, we have plenty of reasons to gather. From our first night at Boulevard Brewing Company through the final celebration at the National WWI Museum and Memorial, here’s your guide to where we’ll eat, drink, connect, celebrate, and spend time together in Kansas City.

Opening Party

Wednesday, October 21 | 6:00–9:00 PM
Boulevard Brewing Company Beer Hall
2534 Madison Ave, Kansas City, MO 64108
Hosted by Archetype

Before the Conference officially gets underway, meet us at one of Kansas City’s hometown favorites. We’re taking over the Boulevard Brewing Company Beer Hall for an easy first night together, with drinks, food, and plenty of time to reconnect with old friends and meet some new ones.

If you’re arriving Wednesday for a pre-conference bootcamp or the Crystal Bridges excursion, come straight from the day’s activities. If you’re just getting into town, drop your bags and join us. This is where the Conference starts to feel like the Conference.

President’s Reception + Auction for Excellence

Thursday, October 22 | 7:00–9:30 PM
East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
Presented by AVI-SPL

One of SEGD’s most beloved Conference traditions returns Thursday night. After a full first day exploring Kansas City and getting out into the city on tours, we’ll come back together for the President’s Reception + Auction for Excellence.

Part celebration, part fundraiser, and always a little competitive, the Auction for Excellence brings together one-of-a-kind experiences, design objects, and contributions from across the SEGD community. Grab a drink, catch up on everyone’s day, place a bid (or several), and help support SEGD while you’re at it.

NEXPO Reception

Friday, October 23 | 4:00–5:00 PM
East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
Sponsored by Gable

After a full day of Conference programming, NEXPO Talks, and conversations on the show floor, Friday afternoon shifts into happy hour.

Grab a drink and take another lap around NEXPO, meet the people behind the materials, products, technologies, and fabrication capabilities shaping experiential design, and spend some time with the exhibitors and partners who make this community possible. It’s also the perfect transition into Friday evening’s biggest event: the 2026 SEGD Global Design Awards.

SEGD Global Design Awards Celebration

Friday, October 23 | 6:30–8:00 PM
Barney Allis Historic Lobby
Presented by DCL in partnership with CREO Industrial Arts, Dimensional Innovations, MAD Systems, MOSS, SignAgent, and S+D Corp.

Once the awards have been revealed, it’s time to celebrate the people behind the work.

Immediately following the 2026 SEGD Global Design Awards Ceremony, join this year’s winners, jurors, collaborators, and the broader SEGD community for a reception honoring exceptional experiential design from around the world. It’s a chance to see the people behind the projects, toast the teams who brought them to life, and continue the conversations sparked by the work we’ve just seen on stage.

And because some of the best collaborations begin when designers, fabricators, technologists, clients, and makers find themselves in the same room, stick around. This is one of those rooms.

Fellow + Achievement Awards Celebration

Saturday, October 24 | 10:00–10:35 AM
Prohibition Hall
Presented by Pentagram

We’re starting Saturday’s celebrations a little earlier, with a mimosa or Bloody Mary in hand.

Following the 2026 SEGD Achievement Awards, join us for a toast to this year’s honorees and the leadership, service, mentorship, and contributions they have made to SEGD and the experiential design community.

Then bring your drink back into the room as we turn to SEGD’s highest individual honor. We’ll hear directly from our 2026 SEGD Fellows, Jonathan Jackson, Donna Lawrence, Despina Macris, and Mark Ross, and celebrate the careers, ideas, defining moments, and bodies of work that have helped shape our profession.

Closing Party at the National WWI Museum and Memorial

Saturday, October 24 | 5:30–7:00 PM
National WWI Museum and Memorial
Sponsored by Donna Lawrence Productions, Electrosonic, Nanolumens, and Pixera

Three days together deserve a proper send-off, and this year we’re closing the Conference inside one of Kansas City’s most significant cultural destinations.

If you didn’t make it to the National WWI Museum and Memorial during Thursday’s Conference tours, this is your last chance to experience Encounters, the Museum’s new immersive experience, while spending one final evening together with the SEGD community.

After three days of exploring what it means to Meet Me in the Middle, raise a glass, find the people you didn’t get enough time with, continue the conversations you’re not quite ready to end, and celebrate the community that makes the SEGD Conference Experience what it is.

We’ll meet you there!