FaireFest

The Client: FaireFest was a four-day employee engagement retreat organized by wholesale marketplace Faire. This first-time event celebrated Faire’s milestone of surpassing one billion dollars in revenue in a single year, and also aimed to strengthen the community and connection among Faire’s team of 800 global employees.

The Challenge: Faire aimed to reinforce its identity and community while boosting employee retention and engagement. The event needed to resonate with a diverse group of employees—encompassing a wide range of age, race, gender, job functions, personality types, interests, and physical capabilities—all while aligning with Faire’s core mission of connecting independent artisans and retailers.

The Solution: Sequence Events spearheaded the creative process, developing the theme of “FaireFest” to evoke the inclusive and celebratory spirit of global festivals. Our design concept incorporated bold graphics, cut-out style illustrations, and life-sized installations featuring bright colors and natural wood, all resonating with Faire’s established brand palette.

Engagement strategies were woven through every single aspect of the event, particularly through three main components:

• 1. FaireFestFriends: This innovative program divided employees into diverse teams of 16, encouraging new cross-functional relationships. These groups participated in a variety of activities, from scavenger hunts to guided nature walks, fostering team spirit and sustained interaction.
• 2. Customer Marketplace: We invited 10 Faire sellers to set up booths throughout the conference center. Employees received “Faire Bucks” to purchase products, which facilitated direct interactions with artisans and deepened their understanding of Faire’s customer base and mission.
• 3. Diverse Activity Program: In addition to structured programming, main-stage keynotes, and team dinners, FaireFest offered a balanced mix of structured and free-choice activities. Outdoor adventures like zip-lining and mountain climbing were offered alongside quieter, creative options like painting workshops and kite-making sessions.

SEQ paid attention to every little detail, from the venue selection—Toronto’s Blue Mountain Resort, which has a diverse range of unique event spaces—to name badges with optional pronoun and ERG stickers, to “Mingle BINGO” that got guests interacting early on. Even during downtime, we leaned into interaction through continuous engagement spaces like the FaireFest Lounge, which was open daily with DIY crafts, board games, a coloring corner, and more. And on the shuttle bus rides to the venue, employees played icebreakers and listened to playlists curated from guest preferences expressed during registration.

Another conversation-sparking highlight? The themed evening events each night: “Canadian Pride” night featured guests in denim-on-denim “Canadian tuxedos,” for example, while “AlpineGlow” night—held at the venue’s mountainside venue—dazzled with glowing decorations, face rhinestones, and body glow paint stations.

The Results: FaireFest successfully met—and surpassed—its objectives, fostering a stronger sense of community and enhancing connections among Faire’s 808 employees who attended from around the globe. The event saw high levels of active participation across all activities, with the innovative FaireFestFriends initiative leading to active post-event communication in dedicated Slack channels, and the engaging Customer Marketplace where attendees spent nearly $30,000 in Faire Bucks!

The Kind Words: Feedback from a post-event survey was overwhelmingly positive. “Coming together really reinforced my confidence in Faire’s future and also gratitude for incredible leadership and a community of Faire folk,” wrote one employee, while another said: “Faire truly cares about their mission, and the coworkers I met truly love working at Faire.” “It was super inspiring and motivated me to work harder,” added a third, while another said: “The vibes were VIBING. Loved the branding!”