Dutchie × Allaway

Guests hosted: 250+
Night retreat: 3
Annual retreat with Allaway: First
Company Retreat: 2026

The Client

Who is Dutchie?

Dutchie is the technology platform behind cannabis retail in North America — point of sale, e-commerce, payments and the live menus that more than 6,500 dispensaries run on. Around a million transactions a day, across forty-plus markets. If you have ordered from a dispensary online, there is a good chance you were using Dutchie without ever seeing the name.

It started in a queue. On 1 October 2015, the first day Oregon sold recreational cannabis, Ross Lipson stood in a long line outside a dispensary in Bend and worked out that the problem was not demand — it was the counter. He and his brother Zach launched Dutchie in 2017 from that same town, and their first customer was the shop he had been queuing outside.

The product philosophy has not moved since: the best technology in retail is the technology nobody notices. That is a good way to build software and a hard way to build a company culture, because the work is distributed, the markets are regulated one state at a time, and most of the team meets each other through a screen.

So for their first annual company retreat, Dutchie put 250+ people in one place for three nights — and ran it with us. Allaway wrote the program end to end and delivered it on site: accommodation and every dietary requirement, food and beverage, vendors, AV, transfers and activity programming, with our team on the ground from the first arrival to the last departure.

Company: Cannabis commerce technology — POS, e-commerce, payments
Founded: 2017, Bend, Oregon
Founded by: Ross Lipson & Zach Lipson
Headquarters: Bend, Oregon
Platform: 6,500+ dispensaries · 40+ North American markets
Category: Company Retreat · First Annual
Allaway Partnership: 2026
Program: Dutchie Company Retreat · 3 nights · 250+ guests
Allaway Scope: Program design · Hotel & F&B · Vendors · AV · Transfers · On-site management

01 Mon 18 May

10:00a – 8:45pEight shuttle runs from LaGuardia and Newark, met at the curb
2:00pCheck-in, name tag station and swag station open
3:00pWaterfront opens — boating, paddleboarding, volleyball, pickleball
3:00pQuiet work space open in the Lounge
5:30pLive music from Nowhere Slow at the Flagpole
7:00pDinner at the Lodge
8:00pCampfire, s'mores and a welcome from Dutchie leadership

02 Tue 19 May

8:00aSunrise yoga with a live DJ, trail run, cold plunge at the lake
9:30a – 12:00pDutchie All Hands — the Barn built to 260 theater seats
12:00pCompany photo, lakeside
1:00pOptional professional headshots
1:30pBasketball, pickleball and volleyball tournaments, ropes course, archery
6:00pThe Dutchie Carnival — hog roast, food tents, dunk tank, live band
7:00pLaser tag on the Meadows, and the Eastern Conference Finals
8:00pKaraoke with Madhouse, backed by a live band
10:00pLate night snack on the Barn patio

03 Wed 20 May

8:00aSunrise yoga in the amphitheater, trail hike, cold plunge
8:00aTestimonial capture and the signing poster at the Pavilion
9:30a – 12:00pDutchie Keynote — the Barn reset to 270 theater seats
12:00pHeadshots, second session
1:45pThe Dutchie Games — medals for first, second and third
3:00pPaint and sip at the waterski dock, pool and boats open
6:00pCocktail hour — a custom cocktail and mocktail at the Pavilion
8:30pDutchie Game Night on the Barn stage
9:30pWild Wild West party — DJ Chris James, branded photo booth

04 Thu 21 May

7:30aEarly Riser coffee at the Lodge
7:30aGrab and go breakfast, water and cookies for the road
8:30aPack and depart, baggage staged at the Gallery
9:00aCoaches depart, every guest routed to the airport they flew into

Two things carry this program. The Barn was struck and rebuilt as a full theater twice on consecutive mornings — 260 seats, then 270, with stage, podium, mics and presentation AV — while the waterfront, the courts and the coffee house kept running around it. And no evening repeated itself: a carnival, a live band karaoke night, a themed party, each with its own build, its own talent and its own crew. Allaway wrote the program and ran it on site, with the transfers from two airports, the meals, the bar, the vendors, the AV and every activation confirmed before anyone arrived.

The Program

Four days at The Acres. Not one unclaimed hour.

Dutchie arrived from two airports on eight coaches and left three nights later having run two mandatory all-company sessions, a tournament bracket, a carnival, a laser tag arena, a live-band karaoke night and a themed party — without a single guest ever being handed a logistics problem. This is the run of show.

Day 01

Monday, May 18 Arrival

10:00 AM

Airport shuttles begin

Eight coach runs staggered across the day from LaGuardia Terminal C and Newark Terminal C. Every arrival met at the curb with a manifest, VIP baggage tags, water and a charged phone.
2:00 PM

Check-in, name tags and swag

Swag station built at the Flagpole Bar, name-tag station at the Pavilion, luggage moved by hauler to accommodations while guests went straight to lunch.
3:00 PM

The waterfront opens

Boating and stand-up paddleboarding, beach volleyball, pickleball and lawn games — with a quiet work space held open in the Lounge for anyone still on East Coast hours.
5:30 PM

Live music at the Flagpole

Nowhere Slow played the golden hour into dinner, bar open alongside.
8:00 PM

Campfire, s'mores and music

Fire lit at the Meadows, s'mores service at the Pavilion, lawn and board games running until close. Dutchie leadership opened the week with a short welcome.

Day 02

Tuesday, May 19 All Hands & Carnival

8:00 AM

Early riser block

Sunrise yoga with a live DJ in the amphitheater, a trail run, and a cold plunge with hot chocolate at the lake. Tournament brackets posted in the Lodge over breakfast.
9:30 AM

Dutchie All Hands

The Barn struck and rebuilt overnight as a 260-seat theater — center aisle, stage, podium, five chairs, three handheld mics and full presentation AV. Two and a half hours, whole company, zero technical interruption.
12:00 PM

Company photo, lakeside

Every attendee in one frame, then straight into lunch. Optional professional headshots ran alongside all afternoon.
1:30 PM

Tournament afternoon

Basketball, pickleball and volleyball brackets seeded in advance and refereed on site, plus the ropes course, archery, tubing and bracelet making at the pool.
6:00 PM

The Dutchie Carnival

A field built from nothing in an afternoon: hog roast, food and bar tents, dunk tank, cornhole, balloon columns, string lighting, a live band from 5:30 and a DJ set from a Dutchie employee.
7:00 PM

Laser tag on the Meadows

A 22 by 29 foot inflatable arena, sixteen feet tall, on its own generators — running alongside the Eastern Conference Finals on a projector next door.
8:00 PM

Karaoke with Madhouse

A live band playing their own set first, then backing the company for three hours. Printed set lists, karaoke slips, open bar, and a late-night snack on the Barn patio to close it out.

Day 03

Wednesday, May 20 Keynote & Wild West

8:00 AM

Early riser block

Sunrise yoga in the amphitheater, a trail hike and the cold plunge again — with a signing poster set up at the Pavilion and testimonial capture running over breakfast.
9:30 AM

Dutchie Keynote

The Barn reset a second time to a 270-seat theater. Same build, same standard, one day later.
1:45 PM

The Dutchie Games

Camp-style team competition at the Sports Complex, run by Allaway staff, with medals struck for first, second and third.
3:00 PM

Paint and sip, waterfront, courts

Twenty seats set at the waterski dock for paint and sip with prosecco and non-alcoholic service, while the pool, boats and courts ran open.
6:00 PM

Cocktail hour at the Pavilion

A custom cocktail and a custom mocktail built for the week, poured before dinner.
8:30 PM

Dutchie Game Night

Late-night talk-show format on the Barn stage, 260 seats reset again, presentation cued and run.
9:30 PM

Wild Wild West party

DJ Chris James on the Barn system, a full themed build-out, a prop table at the Pavilion and a photo booth shooting onto a Dutchie-branded backdrop until midnight.

Day 04

Thursday, May 21 Departure

7:30 AM

Grab-and-go breakfast

Boxed breakfast and bagels at the Lodge, coffee from first light, water and cookies packed for the road.
8:30 AM

Pack and depart

Baggage collected by hauler from accommodations and staged at the Gallery ahead of the coaches.
9:00 AM

Coaches depart

Every guest routed back to the airport they came in on. Camp Dutchie, closed.

The Headliners

Five things you don't get from a hotel ballroom.

A company retreat lives or dies on the nights. These are the five builds Dutchie's people are still talking about — each one produced, staffed and struck by Allaway inside a single week.

01
The Dutchie Carnival
An empty lake field at lunchtime; a working carnival by six. Hog roast and food tents, a full bar service, a dunk tank plumbed to a live hose, balloon columns, cornhole, string lighting strung the length of the site, and a band on stage at half past five. Ten Allaway staff ran games all night.
- 5 tents
- 25 picnic tables
- Hog roast
- Live band + DJ
- 10 staff on games
02
Karaoke with Madhouse
Not a screen and a microphone — a live band. Madhouse played their own set to open the room, then spent three hours backing whoever walked up. Printed set lists on every table, slips at the door, bar open throughout, and a late-night snack waiting on the Barn patio when it finished.
- Live band karaoke
- 3 hours
- Printed set lists
- Barn staging + power
03
Laser tag on the Meadows
A sixteen-foot inflatable arena, twenty-two by twenty-nine feet, trucked in and stood up on its own generators with specialist lighting, an overnight crew and three Allaway operations staff on the build. Running three hours, in parallel with the Eastern Conference Finals on a projector next door.
- 22 × 29 ft arena
- 16 ft tall
- 2 generators
- Overnight crew
04
The Dutchie Games
Camp competition, built for a software company. Teams seeded ahead of arrival, brackets posted in the Lodge over breakfast, referees in shirts, and real medals struck for first, second and third. It ran across the basketball, pickleball and volleyball courts and finished at the Sports Complex.
- 3 tournament brackets
- Refereed on site
- Medals, 1st–3rd
- Pre-seeded teams
05
Wild Wild West
The last night, themed end to end. DJ Chris James on the Barn system until midnight, a full set build, a prop table at the Pavilion and a photo booth shooting onto a Dutchie-branded backdrop — so the company went home with the pictures, not just the memory.
- Themed build-out
- DJ to midnight
- Branded photo booth
- Custom logo template

What We Brought

One partner. Every moving part.

Dutchie booked one company and got a venue, a transport network, a production department, a kitchen, a bar, a talent agency and a crew. Nothing was subcontracted out of our sight, and nothing landed on Dutchie's people to manage.

8 Airport coach runs
2 Airports served
270 Seat theater, built twice
30+ Programmed experiences

01
Transportation & arrivals

Eight staggered coach runs from LaGuardia and Newark, curbside meet-and-greet with printed manifests, VIP baggage tags, golf carts and haulers moving luggage on site, and every guest routed home on the airport they flew into.
02
Production & AV

Two full theater builds in the Barn on consecutive mornings, stage, podium, handheld mics, clicker and presentation cueing, plus DJ systems, projector and screen, generators, string and spot lighting across five separate venue spaces.
03
Food & beverage

All-day dining at the Lodge, a coffee house open morning and afternoon, a hog roast and food tents on the carnival field, managed open-bar windows, a custom cocktail and mocktail, late-night snack service and a grab-and-go departure breakfast.
04
Program design

Four days built as a single arc — sunrise blocks, waterfront and court programming, seeded tournaments, arts and crafts, a carnival, a games day and three distinct evening entertainments that never repeated themselves.
05
Talent & entertainment

Sourced, contracted, advanced and run: Nowhere Slow, Madhouse, DJ Chris James, a laser tag operator with an overnight crew, yoga and DJ hosts for the sunrise sessions, and a photographer shooting optional headshots on two afternoons.
06
Brand & on-site crew

Name-tag and swag stations, printed menu and wayfinding signage, a Dutchie-branded photo backdrop and booth template, a signing poster, struck medals, referee shirts, testimonial capture, and Allaway staff on every activation.