Agritourism Conference

Base Camp: Exploring the Trails, Agritourism, and Downtown Ecosystem

Save the dates, October 18-21, 2021 for

Base Camp: Exploring the Trails, Agritourism, and Downtown Ecosystem

Theme: Resilience, Relevance, Connectivity

9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Daily

3 Days with 4th Day Workshop

VIRTUAL

Keynote Speakers:

Cassidy Rasnick, Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade

Liz Thorstensen, Vice President, Trail Development, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

John Kennedy, Speaker, Author, and Strategist with Agritourism.Life

Stephanie Smith, President, SASC – a strategic communications agency

Chuck Flink, FASLA, PLA, an award-winning author, landscape architect, and planner

Amy Camp, Cycle Forward – trail tourism consulting
and author of “Deciding on Trails: 7 Practices of Healthy Trail Towns”

First 100 people to register receive Amy Camp’s book!

Download Agenda

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

Prices
$25.00 per day
$50.00 for workshop
$100.00 for entire conference and workshop
$75.00 for Early Bird Registration

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Day 1 - Downtowns are Vital to Trails and Agritourism

Cassidy Rasnick, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade

Liz Thorstensen, Vice President, Trail Development, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Identifying Market Assets and Opportunities (Matt Wagner, National Main Street)

Connectivity by Design (Kathy Frazier, Frazier Associates)

Round Table: Asset Mapping and Brainstorming

Day 2 - Agritourism Connections for Increased Visitation

Keynote — John Kennedy, Resilience, Relevance and Revenue!

How to Get Noticed, Relevant, and Connected (Dr. Stephanie Smith)

Benchmarking Importance of Measuring Success for Agritourism Partners (John Kennedy)

Roundtable with

Beaver Dam Farms (Candace Monaghan)

Graves Mountain Lodge (Lynn Graves)

Day 3 - Trails Building Connections

Trails As Economic Engines for Agrotourism (Chuck Flink)

Connectivity Matters (Amy Camp)

Trails with Connections to Towns/Businesses and Agritourism

Debbie Gardner, Co-owner, Draper Mercantile and Trading Company (and Draper Blooms, LLC), Owner, New River Retreat
Frank Maguire – Lessons from PA
Gavin Blevins – Trail Town USA (Damascus)

Round Table: Building Partnerships and Community Connections Panel

Daniel Jordan, Park Manager, High Bridge Trail State Park
Katie Dunn, Special Projects Coordinator, Norton Friends and Farmers Market Co-Manager
Dan Gregg, President, Grelen Nursery, Inc.

Day 4 - Workshop

How to Take What You’ve Learned Over the Last 3 Days and Effectively Connect the Different Parts of the Trails, Agritourism, and Downtown Ecosystem

This interactive workshop will explore ways of forming partnerships and products that bring together trails, agritourism, and downtown areas. Concerns and barriers will be discussed, as well as ways to overcome them. Examples of successful partnerships will be shared. The workshop will include both small group and large group discussion.

Brought to you by:

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development
Virginia Tourism Corporation
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Virginia Farmers Market Association
Virginia Cooperative Extension
National Park Service