We are now accepting Vendor/Exhibitor proposals for our January 2018 event! Vendor/exhibitors must have their proposal in by Saturday, November 4th to be included in our event promotion. Proposals will be accepted up until the event, as space allows. Note: we typically fill our vendor area well in advance of the event, so submit your proposal early!! For more details, feel free to check out our Vendor/Exhibitor Guidelines. Vendors will need to fill out an ST-19 form, which can be returned to us by email, mail, or at check-in the day of.
We are very lucky to have quality presenters every year. Do you have what it takes?
Preparations have started for our 12th Annual Back to Basics event! This event combines workshops, vendors/exhibitors, a keynote, lunch, door prizes, and more! Back to Basics brings roughly 400 people together to share ideas on a wide variety of topics related to sustainability and resiliency. In addition to 35+ workshops, this event includes a large vendor area with 45+ booths providing educational materials, services, and locally made/grown goods of a sustainable nature. The vendor area is open to the public for free. School-aged (K-4) children’s programming runs concurrently so bring the family and enjoy the day together!
There are a lot of ways you could get involved with Back to Basics – check out the options below! Do you have a suggestion for a workshop topic/presenter? Do you know someone who would be a good fit for our vendor area? Feel free to email us with suggestions at b2b@happydancingturtle.org. As we get closer to the event, check back for updates and registration information here!
Presenters & Workshops
We offer single (1-hour) and double (2-hour) workshop sessions covering a wide range of sustainability and resilient living topics. These include, but are not limited to, gardening & agriculture, cooking & preserving, healthy eating, livestock raising, personal health & wellness, energy efficiency, mindfulness, DIY & crafts, sustainable homes & practices, hobbies, & entrepreneurship. For a better idea of the types of workshops we offer, take a peek at last year’s offerings!
We simply could not do this event without the wonderful people who are willing to share their time and knowledge! Do you have information related to sustainability and/or resilient living you would like to share? We are currently seeking presenters for our January 2018 event! All presenter proposals are due by Saturday, November 4th. You can submit a proposal online, or you can print the form and mail in your proposal. For additional information about presenting a workshop, check out our Presenter Guidelines.
Keynote Speakers
This year we are excited to have Philip Hunsicker and Mike Duval deliver our keynote
Mike Duval (left) and Phil Hunsicker (right) of Division of Ecological & Water Resources
address! Both work for the Division of Ecological and Water Resources within the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Phil is an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention Planner and Mike is the District Manager. You won’t want to miss this dynamic duo! According to them, Phil and Mike are good friends who share a passion for water, music, and pie, not necessarily in that order. They will lean on two of their passions to talk about what above-average Minnesotans need to know, and what they can do about above-average environmental challenges like climate change and aquatic invasive species. Combined, Phil and Mike have 70+ years of experience in the natural resources field. They’ve been eating pie for even longer than that.
Vendors and/or Exhibitors
Our vendor area is one you don’t want to miss! With over 45 booths, there is an abundance of educational materials, services, and locally made/grown goods, including delicious foods (jellies, salsas, syrups), natural personal care products, handmade home decor, clothing and more! Are you excited to do some shopping in our vendor area? Take a look at the current list of vendors to see who will be around this year! The vendor area is free to visit and open to the public!
We are now accepting Vendor/Exhibitor proposals for our January 2018 event! Vendor/exhibitors must have their proposal in by Saturday, November 4th to be included in our event promotion. Proposals will be accepted up until the event, as space allows. Note: we typically fill our vendor area well in advance of the event, so submit your proposal early!! For more details, feel free to check out our Vendor/Exhibitor Guidelines. Vendors will need to fill out an ST-19 form, which can be returned to us by email, mail, or at check-in the day of.
If you would like to submit your proposal online AND pay online, please use our online registration system. Payments are made through PayPal, but you do not need a PayPal account. If you would prefer to pay with a check, please print the form and mail it in with your payment.
Participants
Last year we had a record number of workshops and we revamped the schedule to
Just look at the fun you can have!
accommodate our growing event. The schedule reduced lunch line congestion while providing participants with more time to visit vendor booths, learn from our presenters, take advantage of networking opportunities, enter to win door prize drawings, and socialize with friends! We will be keeping this schedule for this year’s event.
Participant registration will begin in December. Until then, hold tight! If you’d like to view last year’s workshops to get a better idea of what types of sessions we offer, take a look here!
Supporters, Sponsors, & Volunteers
We would not be able to do this event without our supporters, sponsors, and volunteers!
Supporters: We rely on the help of many! Friends of Back to Basics have long offered feedback and suggestions that have helped shape our event over the years. They continue to spread the word of our event through sharing with family and friends and putting up posters/brochures in their communities. If you’re interested in putting up flyers in your town, shoot us an email at b2b@happydancingturtle.org.
Sponsors: Are you interested in sponsoring this event? We have a variety of sponsorship levels to choose from! Learn more about opportunities to sponsor through our online form. If you would prefer, you can also print the form and return it to us via mail.
New this Year: B2B Enthusiasts! – we’re offering a new way to support B2B this year! When you register on as a presenter, vendor/exhibitor, or a participant, you will have the option to donate a little something extra for future B2B events! Help us keep this unique educational event affordable for everyone! You will receive recognition at our event as a B2B Enthusiast!
Volunteers: On the day of the event, there are many jobs that need to be done! If you volunteer to help us for half of the day, you can attend workshops the other half of the day for FREE, plus you get a complimentary lunch and event T-shirt!!