We are excited to announce that we will be holding our next conference jointly with the North American Strawberry Association We will be meeting in association with the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable, and Farm Market Expo in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is a highly regarded regional meeting that attracts more than 4000 participants and 450 exhibitors. It is one of the largest trade shows for fruit and vegetable growers, greenhouse growers and farm marketers in North America!
Because the Great Lakes Expo is held in December, we will actually have TWO conferences in one calendar year — this December meeting will replace our Winter 2017 conference, which would typically be held in January or February. (In 2018, we’ll get back on schedule.
If there is any possibility that you will attend this meeting in Grand Rapids, we encourage you to make hotel reservations immediately. The conference room blocks tend to fill up by summertime. Click here for hotel information. Rooms may be cancelled until November 9 with no penalty in the most convenient hotels; those a bit further away may offer later cancellation dates.
Here is our overall schedule to help you make your plans:
- Sunday, Dec. 4: Opening Reception at the Amway Grand Hotel.
- Monday, Dec. 5: Joint conference with NASGA, sessions on both strawberry and caneberry topics
- Tuesday, Dec. 6: Strawberry and Caneberry tracks are part of the Great Lakes Expo in the DeVos Convention Center. Trade show and many other sessions as well.
- Wednesday and Thursday, Dec 7-8: The Great Lakes Expo continues, with the trade show and lots of other sessions, but no strawberry or caneberry-specific sessions. If you register for our Berry Conference, Monday and Tuesday, you will be able to attend these days well.
We last met with NASGA in 2013 in Portland, Oregon, and we last met in Grand Rapids in 2008.
Information on the program, registration fees, etc. will be posted as soon as it is available.
