The Corporate Event News team has curated a short list of upcoming U.S.-based events that we think every corporate event professional should consider attending.

PCMA Convening Leaders — Jan. 5-8, San Francisco

Convening Leaders brings together approximately 5,000 event professionals each year. Now in its 53^rd year (you heard that right), the event will be held in San Francisco for the first time in 20 years. Keynote speakers include visionary thinker Simon Sinek, Endeavor CMO Bozoma St. John and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Sign up for the livestream to catch the highlights, and mark your calendar for Jan. 10-13, 2021, when the event will be held in Houston.

SXSW — Mar. 13-22, Austin

South by Southwest rolls up a conference, festivals, exhibitions and awards into a giant multi-day sensory experience that covers multiple industries and markets, blurring the lines between B2B and B2C. The brand activations there are sure to give event professionals new ideas.

Experiential Marketing Summit — May 11-13, Chicago

Want to network with and learn from B2B and B2C brand-side marketers, executives from leading event agencies, meeting planners, trade show organizers, event strategists, experience designers and event technology gurus? EMS has something for everyone, attracting more than 1,800 event marketers each year.

SPIN AdventureCon — Jun. 1-4, Anchorage, Alaska

A new event from The Senior Planners Industry Network (SPIN) described as “a mashup of a business workshop with a rejuvenation retreat,” AdventureCon promises senior-level education and adventure. We’re intrigued!

MPI World Education Congress (WEC) – Jun. 6-9, Grapevine, Texas

Meeting Professionals International is the largest meeting and event industry association worldwide. More than 2,500 event professionals from around the globe attend MPI WEC each year to experience education, business and networking opportunities for meeting and event planners.

CEMA Summit – July 26-28, Nashville

The Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) advances strategic event marketing and marketing communications for senior-level event marketers and industry professionals. At CEMA Summit, you’ll gain the knowledge, insights and tools you need to thrive in the rapidly evolving event marketing industry. In addition to Summit, CEMA hosts some amazing Study Tours that take participants behind the scenes of some of the world’s most impressive events.

Connect Marketplace — Aug. 17-19, New Orleans

Connect brings together more than 4,000 planners, suppliers and experts across six meetings and events industry markets. In addition to education sessions, certification opportunities, a large expo floor and networking activities, planners are matched with suppliers for one-on-one meetings.

IMEX America – Sept. 15-17, Las Vegas, NV

IMEX is a worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. The event brings together meeting and event professionals from a wide range of disciplines and sectors. If you're a meeting and events professional, you'll find all the suppliers you need for your events — from new venues in major cities across the world to the latest event tech providers. And don’t miss SmartMonday powered by MPI, which is packed with information for event professionals. Both IMEX and SmartMonday are free for qualified event professionals, and IMEX also offers a hosted buyer program.  

SPINCon – Dec. 13-15, Miami

The Senior Planners Industry Network (SPIN) is the only network of senior-level meeting and event professionals in North America. All members have at least 10 years of full-time experience planning meetings or supplying goods and services to execute them. SPINCon is the group’s annual event, focused on bringing together body, brain, being and business.  

Haute Dokimazo Secret Family Reunion – Dates, Location TBD

We actually recommend attending any Haute Dokimazo event. HD puts on conferences unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. There are no keynotes, no breakout sessions, and no expo. The first Secret Family Reunion was held in Nov. 2019 with a secret destination (that turned out to be Tuscany, so this one may end up being outside the U.S. next time — but we don’t know!) and it completely changed attendees’ perceptions of what an event could be. The HD team has promised that the next iteration will once again break new ground and be completely different than any event held in past.

Are there other events you would recommend to your peers?  Let us know on  Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn!