Conference Tours
Pre-Conference Tour – April 29
Soaring to New Heights
9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
This full-day tour will showcase a couple of West Virginia’s most popular tourist destinations and give you a taste of our state’s culture and heritage. The tour will start with a stop at Tamarack Marketplace, which is a vibrant cottage industry destination that offers jobs, market opportunities, training and educational resources for West Virginia’s artists, artisans, crafts people and food producers.
Then, we will head into the New River Gorge National Park for a guided Bridge Walk tour of the New River Gorge Bridge from the catwalk 25 feet beneath the bridge. The catwalk is 24 inches wide with a substantial railing. Before beginning the tour, guests are securely fastened onto a safety cable.
Lunch will be provided by the Secret Sandwich Society.
During our time at the National Park, we will also be having a tree syrup tasting hosted by Future Generations. Participants will get to sample syrup confectionary from many species of trees.
The tour will conclude with a visit to Fayetteville, where we will make a stop at New Roots Community Farm before enjoying dinner at Pies & Pints.
To participate in the pre-conference tour, please select the pre-conference tour add-on when completing your conference registration. If you've already registered, sign in here to make additions to your registration.
Post-Conference Tours – May 2
Keepin’ It Local
1 to 7:30 p.m.
This tour will keep us close to the convention center, but we will have some light walking at the second stop. The tour’s first stop is Capitol Market, a vibrant part of WV’s capital city tucked in a turn of the century train station.
Next, we will head to Patriot Guardens. Patriot Guardens provides non-formal agricultural education and hands-on learning opportunities to veterans, active-duty members of the military and their families. This grant-funded program provides assistance and support to everyone from backyard hobbyists and start-up business owners to the seasoned professional farmer.
After that, we will head to dinner at J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works. This 7th generation salt-making family harvests an all-natural salt by hand, from an ancient ocean trapped below the Appalachian Mountains of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. We will be having a fine dinner prepared by their award-winning chef with locally grown products.
Showcase WV
1 to 7:30 p.m.
This tour will start with a stop at Tamarack Marketplace, which is a vibrant cottage industry destination that offers jobs, market opportunities, training and educational resources for West Virginia’s artists, artisans, crafts people and food producers.
Next, we will visit Hernshaw Farms. Hernshaw Farms describes themselves as a small mushroom operation with a big heart. They are a team of talented folks working to turn mine land into farmland and are cultivating nutrient-dense food for the region. They take pride in every step of the process, from industry-leading sterilization practices, to choosing only the best sourcing for their growing materials. Even the waste is used to build soil that is at work right now repairing old mine lands.
After that, we will head to dinner at J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works. This 7th generation salt-making family harvests an all-natural salt by hand, from an ancient ocean trapped below the Appalachian Mountains of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. We will be having a fine dinner prepared by their award-winning chef with locally grown products.
To participate in either of the post-conference tours, please select the post-conference tour add-on when completing your conference registration. If you've already registered, sign in here to make additions to your registration. You will be contacted later on to select a specific tour.
Soaring to New Heights
9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
This full-day tour will showcase a couple of West Virginia’s most popular tourist destinations and give you a taste of our state’s culture and heritage. The tour will start with a stop at Tamarack Marketplace, which is a vibrant cottage industry destination that offers jobs, market opportunities, training and educational resources for West Virginia’s artists, artisans, crafts people and food producers.
Then, we will head into the New River Gorge National Park for a guided Bridge Walk tour of the New River Gorge Bridge from the catwalk 25 feet beneath the bridge. The catwalk is 24 inches wide with a substantial railing. Before beginning the tour, guests are securely fastened onto a safety cable.
Lunch will be provided by the Secret Sandwich Society.
During our time at the National Park, we will also be having a tree syrup tasting hosted by Future Generations. Participants will get to sample syrup confectionary from many species of trees.
The tour will conclude with a visit to Fayetteville, where we will make a stop at New Roots Community Farm before enjoying dinner at Pies & Pints.
To participate in the pre-conference tour, please select the pre-conference tour add-on when completing your conference registration. If you've already registered, sign in here to make additions to your registration.
Post-Conference Tours – May 2
Keepin’ It Local
1 to 7:30 p.m.
This tour will keep us close to the convention center, but we will have some light walking at the second stop. The tour’s first stop is Capitol Market, a vibrant part of WV’s capital city tucked in a turn of the century train station.
Next, we will head to Patriot Guardens. Patriot Guardens provides non-formal agricultural education and hands-on learning opportunities to veterans, active-duty members of the military and their families. This grant-funded program provides assistance and support to everyone from backyard hobbyists and start-up business owners to the seasoned professional farmer.
After that, we will head to dinner at J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works. This 7th generation salt-making family harvests an all-natural salt by hand, from an ancient ocean trapped below the Appalachian Mountains of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. We will be having a fine dinner prepared by their award-winning chef with locally grown products.
Showcase WV
1 to 7:30 p.m.
This tour will start with a stop at Tamarack Marketplace, which is a vibrant cottage industry destination that offers jobs, market opportunities, training and educational resources for West Virginia’s artists, artisans, crafts people and food producers.
Next, we will visit Hernshaw Farms. Hernshaw Farms describes themselves as a small mushroom operation with a big heart. They are a team of talented folks working to turn mine land into farmland and are cultivating nutrient-dense food for the region. They take pride in every step of the process, from industry-leading sterilization practices, to choosing only the best sourcing for their growing materials. Even the waste is used to build soil that is at work right now repairing old mine lands.
After that, we will head to dinner at J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works. This 7th generation salt-making family harvests an all-natural salt by hand, from an ancient ocean trapped below the Appalachian Mountains of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. We will be having a fine dinner prepared by their award-winning chef with locally grown products.
To participate in either of the post-conference tours, please select the post-conference tour add-on when completing your conference registration. If you've already registered, sign in here to make additions to your registration. You will be contacted later on to select a specific tour.
