1. ENGAGE! SUMMIT SHOWCASES EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS TO MEETING AND MARKETING PROFESSIONALS: Going into its 12th year in March, Engage! Summit—a gathering for wedding industry professionals started by Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce—is in keeping with the biggest trend in events: making occasions and gatherings experiential. In fact, the event, which has grown from 75 attendees to thousands of people, is now attracting not just wedding organizers and vendors but also corporate event planners and marketing professionals. Fortune: "When you put hundreds of event pros in the room, you’d better expect that they will try their hands at some pretty progressive stuff, from synchronized swimmers and aerialists at the after-party to turning a ballroom into a train car for a vintage travel–inspired meal. Each day comes with educational content, as well as a dress code fitting the destination, be it the Breakers in Palm Beach, Nizuc in Cancún, or the Rosewood in London. Each summit culminates with a formal gala celebrating all things wedding at the destination. Even the gift bag has expanded to an entire gifting lounge and monogrammed totes. ... 'It’s so much about your wedding being a complete reflection of who you are as people,' Grinnals explains, 'versus what it was 10 years ago, which was almost like a wedding was a one-time, isolated event. Wedding now fits into lifestyle.'”
2. PUERTO RICO LOSES ICONIC NATURAL WONDER IN 5.8 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE: A soaring stone arch along the southern coast of Puerto Rico, known as Punta Ventana or Window Point, collapsed Monday morning following a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the island. An even stronger quake, registering a 6.5 magnitude, reportedly struck Puerto Rico again early Tuesday morning. Miami Herald: “Punta Ventana is just one of several naturally occurring arches on the island—‘windows’ carved out by the sea beating against rocky outcrops over eons. While the site in Guayanilla wasn’t easy to access, the dramatic image of the round eye gouged into the stone frequently graced tourism brochures. … When he realized the icon was gone, Guayanilla municipality spokesman Glidden Lopez, wrote a eulogy of sorts on Facebook: ‘Playa Ventana has collapsed. Today our icon is nothing but a memory.’”
3. YOUTUBE HEADED BACK TO COACHELLA THIS SPRING: YouTube will make a triumphant return to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this spring. The streaming service will again serve as the exclusive live-stream partner, and it will release the feature documentary Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert, which will give viewers a behind-the scenes look at the beginning of the event and provide new performance footage and interviews. Among the artists featured in the film are Billie Eilish, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Travis Scott, Blackpink, The White Stripes, Madonna, Beck, and Radiohead. The Hollywood Reporter: “For the 10th year in a row, YouTube will be the official playlist and live-stream partner for both weekends of Coachella. As part of its partnership, YouTube Premium subscribers will have access to a members-only batch of passes. Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert joins a slate of music programming on YouTube that includes the upcoming docuseries Justin Bieber: Seasons. The project will be available for free, with ads to YouTube's two billion logged-in users, or without ads on YouTube Premium.“