By Jason Valcourt, NOFA Summer Conference Coordinator

We see you physical distancing, with your mask on, encouraging each other on social media, in listservs and showing the resilient nature of this community. We take to heart your effort to support and deepen your commitment to your own work and to support the local farmers who are keeping our communities fed. What an amazing display of resiliency. We take this moment as a shimmering example of the depth and compassion of this small-scale agricultural movement and are grateful to be woven together with you as a community.

As the time of writing this article, the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals just cancelled their events this summer. Wow. Another event casualty from this unusual situation and a significant one in terms of cultural summer events.

We, too, have decided to cancel the in-person conference and move the conference to an online experience spread out over three weeks from July 20 – August 9th. Although it is not ideal, we know there will be many advantages to bringing the program to you in another way and many we cannot perceive ahead of time. As this community has been built, we will all innovate together and create the same vibrancy that we are accustomed to in person.

One of the unforeseen perks of the NOFA Summer Conference moving online is that you will now be able to attend or view every workshop session of the conference program. At the in-person event you are limited to what sessions you can catch over the weekend, but in the virtual realm you’ll be able to join or watch on your own time because all of the conference workshops will be recorded.

This year’s conference will not only be different by its virtual aspect, but as mentioned above, we will be spreading the program out over three weeks in July and August. The new conference dates will be July 20 – August 9 and the sessions will happen primarily in the evenings.  More details are coming soon, but in the meantime you can peruse the virtual workshop topics that have been confirmed so far on our website.

Registration is now open and we hope you’ll join us at the all new VIRTUAL Summer Conference.

Thank you,

Jason Valcourt

NOFA Summer Conference Coordinator