We’re excited to kick off the IFEA's 70th Anniversary Convention & Expo presented by atVenu with an inspiring keynote from renowned urbanist and bestselling author Peter Kageyama. With his engaging perspective on community, connection, and creativity, Peter will help us reimagine the vital role of festivals and events in shaping vibrant, emotionally connected places—setting the perfect tone as we look ahead to the next 70 years.

The central element that hasn’t changed in the last 70 years is the critical relationship/partnership between cities and events; but through the historical, evolutionary, and economic ups and downs (not all within our control), that relationship has sometimes been strained, or even forgotten. Come join us for this important and motivating opening keynote/reminder as we look to the future. Learn how to fall (back) in love with your city; remember the economic benefits, as well as the important emotional engagement between events/festivals and your community; and learn how to engage your citizens/attendees, sponsors, volunteers, and government officials as development resources. Remember the fun and creative side of community placemaking, as well as the legacies that we leave behind!

Join us on the final day of the convention for an unforgettable Closing Keynote with Steven Davison, Lead Creative Executive and Vice President of Parades & Spectaculars at Walt Disney Imagineering. As IFEA celebrates our 70th Anniversary, Disneyland is marking the same milestone with a theme that couldn’t be more perfect: “Celebrate Happy.”

Disney has long represented the gold standard in creativity, production, and guest experience—respected and emulated by event professionals worldwide. In his role as Lead Creative Executive Director, Davison is responsible for the overall creative direction of daytime parades, firework displays, and nighttime spectaculars at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide.

During his keynote, Davison will take us behind the scenes to explore how Disney celebrates meaningful milestones—reflecting on the past, looking to the future, and sharing how they keep the magic alive for audiences, cast members, partners and the 'communities' that we all have the honor of serving.

This is more than just a closing session—it’s a celebration of imagination, purpose, and the power of storytelling to uplift and inspire. You’ll leave feeling motivated, recharged, and ready to take your own events to the next level.

Be sure to be there to close out our 70th Anniversary Convention & Expo in true Disney style. We can’t wait to Celebrate Happy—together!

The Coachella Valley is home to two of the most iconic music festivals in the world—Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach—both held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. These celebrated events, along with many others across the country and around the world, are produced by Goldenvoice and AEG Presents, two of the most respected names in the global festival and live events industry.

We are thrilled to welcome Nic Adler, Vice President of Festivals for Goldenvoice / AEG Presents, as the featured speaker for our Inside the Industry session at the IFEA's 70th Anniversary Convention & Expo presented by atVenu. In his 'Inside the Industry' presentation, “View from the Peak: Coachella, Stagecoach, and the Festivals of Goldenvoice,” Adler will take attendees behind the scenes of some of the largest and most influential events in the world, offering a candid and insightful look into what it takes to keep festivals thriving in a constantly evolving landscape.

Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Adler will explore the changing dynamics of audience and artist expectations, the critical role of building sustainable and meaningful relationships with host cities, and how innovation, creativity, and adaptability remain key to long-term success. He’ll also speak to the broader challenges and opportunities facing the industry today, and what event professionals at every level should be thinking about as they plan for the future.

This session will be both inspiring and grounded in real-world perspective—offering fresh ideas, strategic insights, and valuable takeaways for anyone involved in live events, regardless of scale or scope.

Don’t miss this compelling Tuesday morning session and the opportunity to learn from one of the most influential voices in modern festival production.

Our industry, as a whole and globally, is in the midst of a unique era of transformation, including both challenges and new opportunities to strengthen our resilience in the years ahead. With coattails still remaining from the industry and world changing pandemic years, we are now facing new economic uncertainties; policy and programming concerns; new tariffs and rising costs; global travel hurdles; DEI and cultural policy impacts; changing attendance and volunteer trends; risk management concerns; changing city and sponsor partnerships; arguable oversaturation of events; and more. Topical challenges for which there are no identified experts, nor ‘best practices,’ yet firmly established.


Believing that to sustain our common successes, across our industry, for the next 70 years and beyond, we must clearly identify our biggest challenges and begin to create new plans for addressing them, we look forward to maximizing our assembled convention brain trust to do just that. Our anniversary gift to the future. Moderated and focused by selected industry leaders, together we will identify, discuss and assemble a strategic priority list and suggested action plan that can serve as a guide for everyone as you return home to your respective organizations, events and communities.

Our conclusions will be shared on-site during the convention and further expanded upon within a special issue of our IFEA quarterly magazine, ie: the business of international events, to be shared with everyone for the common good.