Every year, the who’s who in tech and sustainability collide at GreenBiz’s VERGE conference and this year did not disappoint. Topics ranged from sustainability in supply chains to corporate use of large-scale renewable developments. Fremont was also selected as an invitee to the VERGE City Summit, a day-long working session on the topics of resilience and smart cities. But we thought the post below captured some of the unique highlights that only VERGE can offer.

This article originally appeared on GreenBiz on November 2, 2015. Writer is attributed at the end of the article. For the full piece with pictures please click here.

After a week of conversations, demonstrations and connections last week at the GreenBiz VERGE event in San Jose, California, I’m still trying to process it all. As a senior writer at GreenBiz, it’s my job to help capture some of the main themes and insights coming out of the conference.

I covered how microgrids and utilities are moving beyond their initial rocky relationships to one of direct collaboration; how cities are leveraging public-private partnerships to solve pressing social and environmental challenges; and how open data and the networking effect is unlockingunprecedented levels of innovation. I even wrote about how NASA and businesses are helping to make science fiction into sustainability fact.

But in between all of the heavy talk about innovating to better the world, some unusual — and awesome — stuff happened. Here are five of the most surreal moments from VERGE:

1. Paper elephants with a purpose

To the random passerbyer, it may have looked strange one morning at VERGE to see a room full of business, government and nonprofit leaders attempting to blindly craft elephants out of pieces of paper held behind their backs. But there actually was an excellent purpose for it: to symbolize the need to recognize the many “elephants in the room” that inevitably comes with working with people from such diverse backgrounds.

After creating their elephants, participants wrote down the topics they wanted to discuss that week. It’s important for us to connect and collaborate across silos and be open to the unexpected, said Chris Luebkeman from consulting firm Arup, who directed the paper elephant-making.

2. Refining our sewage water palletes

One day while passing through the VERGE Interconnect Expo, I noticed some people drinking water — not an uncommon sight at the conference — but these particular people seemed to be really grossed out by it. Upon closer inspection, I saw that they were indeed drinking recycled water from a Santa Clara waste treatment facility.

With water scarcity a mounting concern around the world, highlighted by epic droughts in California and elsewhere, water recycling technology could help alleviate some of this pressure. However, one of the chief barriers to using recycled water for drinking is the substantial yuck factor that persists, despite that the water is just as pure as natural spring water.

By allowing people to try it for themselves, perhaps a few more people were sold on the idea of using waste water to help meet our personal hydration needs.

3. A bug’s life ends in our bellies

Meat-loving VERGE attendees may have felt a little bad about their carnivorous habits following Earth Day pioneer Denis Hayes’ sobering presentation about the beef industry, but luckily they had the chance to taste some alternative foods at the Interconnect Expo.

Algae-baked goods were being offered, as well as a variety of insect-based snacks and other alternative proteins. I guess those “Chirps” cricket chips could go well with some recycled toilet water. Yum.

4. Scooting around electrically

We may have failed to make viable hoverboards by 2015, but electric cars, scooters and even skateboards are becoming more common as the technologies improve. On the main stage, Vish Palekar touted the Mahindra GenZe, a sleek all-electric scooter with Internet connectivity. The CEO claimed that his GenZe would do for the scooter what the iPod did for MP3 players.

Elsewhere at the conference, attendees had the opportunity to drive a variety of electric vehicles, including bikes and skateboards. Rumor has it that one unnamed GreenBiz team member accidentally drove the wrong way down a one-way street on a GenZe. Don’t tell Vish.

5. Cupcakes + beer = a good time

Entering the Continental, a San Jose bar lounge, for the VERGE After Dark Party, I was met with the sight of a tower of artisanal cupcakes. I had a chocolate one, and washed it down with a local IPA. It may be the most hipster thing I’ve done in a while.

The bar quickly filled up with the VERGE community of industry leaders and changemakers, which ended up being a special evening of connection, decompression and dancing. The highlights: VERGE Director of Engagement Shana Rappaport singing us all a lovely song, and GreenBiz Chairman and Executive Editor Joel Makower getting jiggy with it on the dance floor. Did I mention there were cupcakes?

Mike Hower is a senior writer at GreenBiz, as well as principal of ClimaTalk Communications, a media content production and communications strategy firm aimed at informing, inspiring, and empowering sustainable business.