Taste in Motion at The Midway: Designing Events Around Food, Movement & Play
San Francisco Event Space News | 8/18/2026
MPI of Northern California Taste in Motion event photography by Misti Layne
Taste in Motion at The Midway: Designing Events Around Food, Movement & Play
What happens when an event for event professionals becomes an opportunity to rethink the event experience itself?
On July 21, 2026, the MPI Northern California Chapter (MPINCC) brought its annual Taste in Motion event to The Midway in San Francisco, creating an industry gathering built around food, movement, interaction, and play.
Rather than concentrating the evening in a single room, Taste in Motion unfolded across multiple spaces at The Midway. Gods & Monsters became the setting for speakers and conversation, Ride housed the event’s culinary experiences, and CarreSel introduced interactive activations.
The result gave attendees different reasons to move through the event and different ways to participate throughout the evening.
Watch: Taste in Motion at The Midway
Taste in Motion brought together Northern California meeting and event professionals for an immersive industry night featuring culinary stations, interactive experiences, a silent disco food tour, and programming focused on bringing more play into the workplace.
One Event, Different Experiences
One of the most interesting aspects of Taste in Motion was how the event used the venue.
Gods & Monsters served as the speaker space, with additional lounge areas giving attendees room to listen, gather, and continue conversations around the programming.
In Ride, the experience shifted from listening to exploring. Food and beverage stations were distributed throughout the space, encouraging guests to wander rather than follow a traditional seated dining format. Attendees could discover different offerings at their own pace, with the culinary program becoming part of how they moved through the event.
CarreSel added another layer through interactive activations, creating a destination focused less on presentations or dining and more on participation.
Separating these experiences helped each space establish its own energy while keeping them connected as part of the same event.
Designing for Movement, Play & Discovery
Taste in Motion showed how programming can shape the way people experience an event. Food and beverage stations throughout Ride encouraged guests to circulate, while the silent disco food tour turned tasting into an experience of its own. Interactive activations in CarreSel added another reason to explore.
Play was part of the programming, too. Speaker Jeff Harry brought his work around positive psychology and workplace play to Gods & Monsters, while creative activations gave attendees opportunities to participate rather than simply observe.
For planners, the takeaway is simple: give people different reasons to move, explore, and engage. Some attendees gravitate toward speakers and structured programming; others connect through food, activities, or informal conversation. Designing for those different behaviors can make an event more engaging without adding more to the schedule.
What Event Planners Can Take From Taste in Motion
The lesson isn’t that every event needs a silent disco or an AI art installation. It’s that the experience can be designed around more than a stage and a schedule.
Taste in Motion used speakers, lounge areas, food and beverage, technology, and interactive programming to create multiple reasons for attendees to move through the venue and engage with one another.
For planners, a few ideas stand out:
- Give different spaces clear purposes rather than repeating the same experience from room to room.
- Use food and beverage strategically to encourage movement and discovery.
- Balance structured programming with opportunities for informal participation.
- Create experiences for different attendee personalities and levels of engagement.
- Leave room for play, curiosity, and the unexpected.
For an event created by and for meeting professionals, Taste in Motion offered a useful reminder: sometimes the most effective event design is simply giving people more ways to experience the room, the programming, and each other.
MPI of Northern California Taste in Motion event photography by Misti Layne
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