What began as a small conversation over coffee turned into a rollercoaster: visiting venues, finding sponsors, drafting event plans over stuttering Wi-Fi, rethinking session schedules, and designing an endless stream of mascot memes (shoutout to SeaQL Sammie).

We thought we were ready for anything. But struggling to buy off drinks during the day? But eventually we found the perfect venue to bring it all together.

In this session, we’ll walk you through our behind-the-scenes journey of organizing a data event from scratch. You’ll hear about first inspiration, the chaos we created and controlled, the spreadsheets with way too many tabs (each with its own format), and the everlasting moments that made it all worth it.

Thankfully, we weren’t flying blind. The SQL Saturday Checklist was a lifesaver, giving structure to our chaos and helping us stay (mostly) sane. No marketing fluff. No corporate slide decks. Just two passionate community members sharing what it’s really like to bring an event to life; with all the lessons, facepalms, and laughs that come with it.

If you’ve ever dreamed of hosting your own event or just want a peek behind the curtain; come join the story.
And yes, there will be stickers. You get a sticker! You get a sticker! Everyone gets a sticker!