The Concept

Aquaponics Fest 2014 on August 9 & 10 in Longmont, CO will be a fun, “grass roots” gathering for aquaponic gardeners, designed so that we can met each other, learn together, and share ideas. While there are other Aquaponics conferences, they are mostly, or exclusively, focused on commercial farming and academic research. They also happen to be much more expensive than Aquaponics Fest 2014 and we think more “stuffy” than backyard, community, and school gardeners want in a weekend event. The workshops, presentations, and contests at Aquaponics Fest will celebrate the DIY spirit of many aquaponic gardeners.

The Schedule

There will be two types of speakers scheduled every hour during the entire event. “Presentations” are speakers talking about a subject related to aquaponics, while “Workshops” will demonstrate how to actually build something or to perform specific task. We had many more speaker applicants than we could accommodate so we selected the ones that we thought would be the most interesting to you as an attendee. Net, we are extremely excited about the resulting schedule! It has become a conference that all of us at The Aquaponic Source are excited to attend.

Click here to see the schedule

The Contests

Another fun part of Aquaponics Fest are the contests. This is a chance for attendees to show off their creativity and innovation, and perhaps even win a $100 prize! The categories are as follows:

Most Aesthetically Pleasing

Most Unique

Most Innovative

Best Youth (Under 18) Design

We are asking that anyone planning on entering a contest category register in advance so we can list you in the program and make sure that we have everything you need to display your entry at its best how can i lose weight quickly. Click here for the entry form.

The Vendors

We have several interesting vendors currently signed up, and can accept more. The vendor list includes the Foody Garden Towers, Protaculture (makers of the BioPod), and Beaver Fish Farm, who promises to have a fascinating game fish display.

Plus we have a couple of top-notch food trucks signed up to serve us a delicious lunch each day (purchased separately).

Since this is the first year of this event we are offering vendor space for FREE! We figure that since we can’t show any past attendance statistics, we can’t really charge anything for the booths. It will probably be a different story next year so this is your big chance! The exception to the Free offer is if you need to rent a tent and table, or if you need power. But even then this is probably still the cheapest event you will show at all year. Click here to apply to be a vendor.

The Farm-to-Table Benefit Dinner

Saturday night will feature a farm-to-table dinner at Ollin Farms benefitting the new Grants for Plants foundation. The evening will include a welcome address by Sylvia Bernstein, President of The Aquaponic Source and author of “Aquaponic Gardening”, plus a farm tour, silent auction, tilapia selection and preparation demonstration by Chef Dale Lamb. The cost for the evening is $75, and signup is available by clicking here. All of the proceeds for this event, and 10% of the proceeds from the main Aquaponics Fest event, will be used to help purchase aquaponic systems and supplies for deserving schools in need through the Grants for Plants Foundation. We believe very strongly that aquaponic systems offer unmatched opportunities for teaching and student engagement in the classroom, and we hope you agree!

Registration

Tickets are available for both one and two days, at adult and youth pricing. We’ve worked hard to keep the cost of registration for the entire weekend at under $100, but prices will go up as August approaches. Don’t wait! Click here to register today.