When you arrive in Kansas, follow the Yellow Brick Road. There will be Yellow Bricks to lead you to the Registration Desk and the meeting rooms. It will be easy to find your way around OZ!
Each day will have a theme reflecting “America’s Harvest”. On Thursday, the Meat, Greet & Wheat theme will be carried out with donated and sponsored meat products (jerky). You will greet all your AAW colleagues and get to take home a gift of genuine, authentic Kansas wheat!
Friday will be carried out with Food, Fuel & Flight. As you fly in to Wichita, known for its contribution to the flight industry (no. 1 *****), you will be welcomed by Kansas farmers who feed 128 other people and you (we have signs to prove it). In addition to using fuel to tour several great places in Kansas, attendees will fuel themselves from the items contained in an up-cycled feed bag (food for livestock) that serves as a centerpiece at each table. You’ll want one of these to “carry” the theme throughout the convention.
Saturday will culminate with the place where all bountiful harvests are shown off…the County Fair! Everyone will be a Blue Ribbon Winner at this event. Each attendee will take home their own prized canned goods and an apron to use as they prepare their entries for next year’s fair. No County Fair is complete without a style review and grandstand entertainment. We’ve got both of them! Don’t forget to enter your up-cycled garment for the Style Review.
Multiple opportunities will be provided for your very own photo moment. Whether you choose to join the cast of the Wizard of Oz, appear on the cover of “Progressive Agriculture”, or gather your friends in a Kansas wheat field, you will have plenty of backdrops for your picture to be taken – all inside, in one place.
Scrapbookers and stamping folks don’t have to stop their hobby while they are at convention. There will be a Make-it and Take-it Center in the Hospitality Room. This cubicle will be set up with stamping supplies throughout the convention. If you would like to design a handmade card(s) and send it home to friends and loved ones, we will provide the stamp! Just come to the Hospitality Room and be creative!
To increase the enthusiasm for the up-cycled items donated to the silent auction, there will be an Up-Cycled Viewer’s Choice Award. Each attendee will be provided one ticket and may vote by depositing their ticket in the container beside each donated up-cycled item. The item with the most tickets in the container will be the winner.
As professionals, we know communication is critical. There will three tools to help participants communicate with one another:
Ø A geographic map will be displayed for each person to pinpoint their home town . When registering, be sure to get your marker so you can identify your place on the map.
Ø A Message Board will be up at all times. If you need to post a message for another attendee, pass on information, or simply pick up a Daily Newsletter, you can do it at this site.
Ø A Ride Board will be up throughout the convention. If someone needs a ride to /from the airport or to/from a shopping spot, you can make the connection on the board.
There will be a Daily Newsletter to keep all attendees updated and informed. Important contact information will be listed on every newsletter for quick reference if a participant needs to contact a convention coordinator or has an immediate question. There will be a section devoted to schedule details and brief bios on each speaker for the day. Another helpful section will be a summary of the activities from the previous day’s agenda. Participants that may arrive late or have to miss a portion of the agenda, will not feel like they have completely miss out if they read the newsletter each morning – they will feel informed and connected. Additionally, there will be a fun, educational section for attendees to learn Kansas facts and trivial information about agriculture. Finally, there will be a lost and found section where items can be listed and easily recovered.
The Hospitality Room is just that…a place for Hospitality! The Wizard of Oz will be showing, there will be tornados-in-a-jar, you can join in a game of Twister, or put your name in the raffle for a Land of Oz souvenir. Daily themes will be carried out with lots of good food, good beverages, and good fellowship...especially on Thursday evening when everyone can warm up and “exchange on the range”. There will be a Hot Cocoa Bar and an exchange of mugs and t-shirts. You won’t go home with what you came with! You will exchange what you brought, with someone else. To participate, you need to bring a mug, or for collegiate members a t-shirt, that depicts your home state or some aspect of agriculture.
The Kansas version of Chippendales will be serving you at the President’s Reception. Kansas’ “John Dears” will be Farmers-In-The-Dale and happy to serve your champagne. Bring your money ladies, the guys will have their garters on!
Can't wait! And we can chat more about Rockin' Rural Women there too. I'm going to try and be there around lunch time.
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