Photos from Morocco Travel Massive's One-Year Celebration at Art House Marrakech

Morocco’s travel community came together at Art House Marrakech in Sidi Abbad for Connect, Create & Explore, our September meetup and an extra special one: it marked a full year since Morocco Travel Massive first came together back in August last year. Thirty of us joined, with familiar faces from past meetups mixing right in with a wave of new ones.

The event brought together tour operators, travel designers and DMC founders, tour guides, camp and cultural space owners, digital marketers and creatives from across Morocco’s travel industry.

Meet our host: Art House Marrakech

Seleena and her team at Art House Marrakech set out to make this a night to remember, and they delivered. The space is warm, creative and beautifully designed, and it connects visitors and locals alike to real artisans and real skills. Whether you’re passing through or live in Marrakech, it’s a place worth knowing about, and you can follow Art House on Instagram.

Travel bingo, then Zwaq painting

A game of travel bingo had everyone circulating the room, trading facts and stories. No hovering in corners here! As always, conversations moved effortlessly between Darija, French, English, Spanish and more, with a huge thank you to Chaima from Art House for translating throughout the night so no one was left out.

Brahim then led us through a workshop in Zwaq, the traditional Moroccan art of hand-painting intricate patterns on wood, the kind you’ll see on the doors and ceilings of riads and palaces. It’s a craft most of us had never tried before, and it pushed many of us outside our comfort zone, but that’s exactly what brought us together: helping each other, laughing through the mistakes, and connecting through the experience itself.

Behind the camera

Local photographer and videographer Mehdi Ait Brahim and his team volunteered to capture the workshop, the room and the people all night. I loved being able to see the whole event, not just from my own perspective, especially as I often get so wrapped up in talking that I forget all about photos!

Here’s a short video from the night, filmed by Mehdi and his team:

Food and conversations that wouldn’t end

The food, catered by Paola and Fatima, was a highlight in its own right, and the tableside conversations just would not end. We had planned to wrap up by 8:30pm. It was 10pm before anyone made a move to leave.

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate a year of Morocco Travel Massive with us, to Seleena and her team for an event that ran so smoothly it barely felt organized at all, and to Mehdi and his team for making sure none of it was lost to memory alone. The next one is already in the works for November, with Seleena joining me once again, so prepare yourself for our next adventure!

— Christine and the Morocco Travel Massive team

Want to be part of events like this? Join Morocco Travel Massive to stay in the loop for the next event. Contact Christine DePalo to host or sponsor an event.