Serving Albany, Troy, Saratoga Springs, Hudson Valley, Upstate New York
Strategic event production and brand experiences for organizations and brands that refuse to settle for “fine”
The events people want to come back to year after year aren't just well-produced.
They ignite passion, excitement, curiosity, and purpose in the people who attend.
That's why they become super fans, forever customers, longtime donors, engaged networks around your brand or mission – and they keep showing up for your vision long after your event.
That's the standard Host + Gather produces every. single. time. And it’s achieved through a hospitality lens that ensures every decision for your event connects back to what you’re known for.
Your events have to hold that standard.
When being visible in your community and bringing people together is a non-negotiable part of your brand and its growth
OUR SERVICES
Applies toward any full Host + Gather engagement
Investment: $500
✓ One 60-minute strategy session in-person or virtually with our founder, Wa’Kena Jackson
✓ Your Event Experience Blueprint, delivered to you one week after our session. Event objective and success mapping
✓ The Event Experience Blueprint includes an objective map, audience and guest list strategy, design directions to help with flow, atmosphere, hospitality and engagement.
What's Included?
Want your next IRL brand activation, networking event, or summit to make people FEEL something?
Donors, customers, and networks show up for your brand because of how it makes them feel, not logic.
In the Event Experience Blueprint, we help you build your concept and blueprint around that feeling, so you don’t fall into the trap of planning the same old event like everyone else in your industry.
You’ll leave this session with the confidence (and plan to follow) that every decision from the guest list, design direction, decor details, and run of show work together.
Because you want your event to do more than get folks to show up – you want to give them an experience they’ll rave about long after they leave.
Built into every full engagement · Also available standalone
THE EVENT EXPERIENCE BLUEPRINT
Applies toward any full Host + Gather engagement
Investment: $500
✓ One 60-minute strategy session in-person or virtually with our founder, Wa’Kena Jackson
✓ Your Event Experience Blueprint, delivered to you one week after our session. Event objective and success mapping
✓ The Event Experience Blueprint includes an objective map, audience and guest list strategy, design directions to help with flow, atmosphere, hospitality and engagement.
What's Included?
Want your next IRL brand activation, networking event, or summit to make people FEEL something?
Donors, customers, and networks show up for your brand because of how it makes them feel, not logic.
In the Event Experience Blueprint, we help you build your concept and blueprint around that feeling, so you don’t fall into the trap of planning the same old event like everyone else in your industry.
You’ll leave this session with the confidence (and plan to follow) that every decision from the guest list, design direction, decor details, and run of show work together.
Because you want your event to do more than get folks to show up – you want to give them an experience they’ll rave about long after they leave.
Built into every full engagement · Also available standalone
THE EVENT EXPERIENCE BLUEPRINT
Scope-dependent · Venue and vendors billed separately
Investment: $2,450
✓ Event strategy and concept development
✓ Guest and audience curation
✓ Venue sourcing and vendor coordination
✓ Full experience design — flow, hospitality, atmosphere, engagement moments
✓ Marketing and visibility support
✓ Timeline and logistics management
✓ Sponsorship guidance (scope-dependent)
✓ On-site execution
✓ Post-event follow-up and wrap-up
w, atmosphere, hospitality and engagement.
What's Included?
The brands people are obsessed with didn't get there through ads alone. They built worlds — and they invited people in. Through product launches that made the room feel like the brand came alive, activations where guests experienced the deeper meaning behind the business, and events where the community stopped being a follower count.
When an experience is built around your brand's actual story – the strategy behind what you want people to feel, the hospitality that makes them feel it, and the creative execution that makes it impossible to forget — your audience doesn't need to be convinced. They're already in.
Host + Gather brings 20+ years across industries, a deep understanding of how to move people to action, and a network of vendors and creatives who know how to bring a brand's world to life in ways that actually reflect who you are — not just what looks good on a mood board.
For small businesses, founder-led brands, marketing teams, and agencies
THE BRAND EXPERIENCE
Scope-dependent · Venue and vendors billed separately
Investment: $2,450
✓ Event strategy and concept development
✓ Guest and audience curation
✓ Venue sourcing and vendor coordination
✓ Full experience design — flow, hospitality, atmosphere, engagement moments
✓ Marketing and visibility support
✓ Timeline and logistics management
✓ Sponsorship guidance (scope-dependent)
✓ On-site execution
✓ Post-event follow-up and wrap-up
w, atmosphere, hospitality and engagement.
What's Included?
The brands people are obsessed with didn't get there through ads alone. They built worlds — and they invited people in. Through product launches that made the room feel like the brand came alive, activations where guests experienced the deeper meaning behind the business, and events where the community stopped being a follower count.
When an experience is built around your brand's actual story – the strategy behind what you want people to feel, the hospitality that makes them feel it, and the creative execution that makes it impossible to forget — your audience doesn't need to be convinced. They're already in.
Host + Gather brings 20+ years across industries, a deep understanding of how to move people to action, and a network of vendors and creatives who know how to bring a brand's world to life in ways that actually reflect who you are — not just what looks good on a mood board.
For small businesses, founder-led brands, marketing teams, and agencies
THE BRAND EXPERIENCE
Venue and vendors billed separately · Minimum six months lead time recommended
Investment: starting at $5,000 or 10-15% of of overall budgets over $35,000
✓ Concept development and full design direction
✓ Venue sourcing and management
✓ Vendor sourcing, coordination, and management
✓ Budget oversight
✓ Guest experience design — arrival, flow, atmosphere, hospitality
✓ Full timeline and logistics planning
✓ Planning meetings throughout the engagement
✓ On-site execution and day-of management
✓ Post-event wrap-up
What's Included?
The event your organization becomes known for. The most respected organizations in any industry know how to gather people in a way that moves them.
Their gala is the one donors clear their calendars for and bring their most influential connections to. Their conference is where their industry goes to think, not just to sit through panels. Their retreat actually aligns the leadership. Their networking events leave people with relationships, not just business cards.
That standard is met by understanding how to produce your event so people feel, do, and remember exactly what you wanted — and having a team who knows how to execute that vision from start to finish.
Modern donors, executives, and professional networks are done with rooms that feel familiar just because familiar is safe. Host + Gather's 20+ years producing events across nonprofit, corporate, and professional sectors — combined with a hospitality-first approach — is how you stop being the organization that hosts this event every year and start being the one that sets the standard.
For nonprofits, corporations, and professional networks
THE GATHERING EXPERIENCE
Venue and vendors billed separately · Minimum six months lead time recommended
Investment: starting at $5,000 or 10-15% of of overall budgets over $35,000
✓ Concept development and full design direction
✓ Venue sourcing and management
✓ Vendor sourcing, coordination, and management
✓ Budget oversight
✓ Guest experience design — arrival, flow, atmosphere, hospitality
✓ Full timeline and logistics planning
✓ Planning meetings throughout the engagement
✓ On-site execution and day-of management
✓ Post-event wrap-up
What's Included?
The event your organization becomes known for. The most respected organizations in any industry know how to gather people in a way that moves them.
Their gala is the one donors clear their calendars for and bring their most influential connections to. Their conference is where their industry goes to think, not just to sit through panels. Their retreat actually aligns the leadership. Their networking events leave people with relationships, not just business cards.
That standard is met by understanding how to produce your event so people feel, do, and remember exactly what you wanted — and having a team who knows how to execute that vision from start to finish.
Modern donors, executives, and professional networks are done with rooms that feel familiar just because familiar is safe. Host + Gather's 20+ years producing events across nonprofit, corporate, and professional sectors — combined with a hospitality-first approach — is how you stop being the organization that hosts this event every year and start being the one that sets the standard.
For nonprofits, corporations, and professional networks
THE GATHERING EXPERIENCE
Wa’Kena did a wonderful job for my sisters 65th surprise birthday party. She was so professional, attentive to details and timely. I will be hiring her for my retirement party in Maryland. I would recommend her services to anyone.
-Linda
"Wa’Kena was absolutely exceptional in planning and coordinating Sister Chris’s 80/30 celebration. From start to finish, every detail reflected thoughtful preparation, creativity, and genuine care. She created a beautiful experience that honored Sister Chris in a way that felt both meaningful and personal.
-Robin
Every engagement starts with strategy — mapping your objective, your audience, and what the experience needs to accomplish. From there we move into concept development, vendor sourcing and management, guest experience design, and full logistics coordination. You'll have regular planning touchpoints throughout, but the goal is always that you're focused on your organization and your guests — not the moving parts. On the day of, we hold everything so you can actually be present for it.
What does working with Host + Gather actually look like day to day?
Brand Experiences is built for founders, marketing teams, and agencies producing events that are primarily about brand visibility, community building, and business development — launches, activations, pop-ups, curated networking. The Gathering Experience is our full-service offer for the events that carry real organizational weight — nonprofit galas, corporate retreats, leadership summits, conferences, and milestone moments. Not sure which fits? Start with the Event Experience Blueprint and we'll map it together.
What's the difference between Brand Experiences and The Gathering Experience?
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Do you only work in the Capital Region?
We're based in Albany, NY and produce most of our events across the Capital Region, Hudson Valley, and Upstate New York. We're absolutely open to traveling for the right project — and we work with out-of-market brands that need local production leadership in our region. Reach out and let's talk about what you're building.
It depends on the scope. Brand activations, pop-ups, and smaller experiences can come together in a matter of weeks. Nonprofit galas, corporate conferences, and larger productions benefit from at least 6 months of lead time — sometimes more. When in doubt, reach out earlier than you think you need to. We'll tell you honestly what's realistic.
How far in advance should I reach out?
Not at all. Brand Experiences starts at $2,450 and scales with scope. The Event Experience Blueprint is $500 and is designed for brands at any stage who want expert eyes on their event strategy before they invest in full production. Venue and vendor costs are separate from our fee — we'll always be transparent about what the full picture looks like before you commit to anything.
Is Host + Gather only for big budgets?
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Most event planners start with logistics — the venue, the vendors, the timeline. We start with strategy. What does this event need to accomplish? Who belongs in the room and why? How do we want guests to feel at every stage? From those answers, we design the hospitality, the flow, the engagement moments, and the experience — then execute it with the precision that makes it look effortless. It's the difference between an event that runs well and an event that actually does something for your brand.
What makes Host + Gather different from a traditional event planner or coordinator?
Yes. We work as a strategic production partner for marketing agencies and influencer marketing firms producing brand activations, experiential campaigns, and client events. If you're building the strategy and need someone to build and execute the room — that's exactly what we do.
Do you work with marketing agencies and brands producing events for clients?
That's what the Event Experience Blueprint is for. It's a single focused session where we slow down, map your concept to your objective and audience, and make sure everything you're planning is actually built to work. You leave with a clear plan — whether you execute it yourself or bring us in for the full production.
What if I have an idea but I'm not sure it's the right direction yet?
Host + Gather produces the events that shape how your brand, your mission, and your organization are known — with the strategy, the hospitality, and the execution to make sure that statement lands exactly the way you intend.
Every event you host is a statement about who you are. The question is whether you're making it on purpose.
