More exciting retail
Get the information you need to proactively prepare for the future and not react when disruption threatens to displace you. With a look at natural retailing today and the monumental shifts coming our way, we’ll dive into natural retail strategy that’s working and how you can set a go-forward strategy for our own store. The Fuel Your Retail Future breakfast gathering for retailers takes place from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 13, in Hilton Holiday Ballroom 4.
Far more hemp CBD
Hemp CBD continues to be the hottest product in supplement aisles. But the cannabis revolution is about more than just this cannabinoid. Learn how to educate customers, how to prepare for regulators, how pioneering brands stand out in the marketplace, and how to be a better ambassador for hemp during the daylong Natural Products Hemp and CBD Summit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Hilton Holiday Ballroom 6.
Also new this year is the Hemp Pavilion, a special area of the show floor set aside for all things hemp and hemp CBD. Find the booths on Level 300.
There’s plenty more where that came from
Before the show floor opens, the Harvest Festival tabletop event sets the mood with an array of organic and natural products in a festival-style atmosphere. This outdoor event combines the lively appeal of a traditional farmers market, with the business-building power of an industry trade show with happy hour beverages and networking to boot. The event takes place from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, on the Baltimore Convention Center’s Outside Terrace on Level 300.
More than meets the eye
Hear from the people behind the package as they make their pitch to judges to win the Pitch Slam Competition. The semifinals take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Hilton Key Ballroom 7/8 and the finalists hit the stage again in the same room from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday. A celebration follows the finals.
Less is more (so much more) in this farm film
Watch the acclaimed film The Biggest Little Farm and listen to the preview panel discussion from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, on Eutaw Street next to the Hilton. The film chronicles the life of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature’s conflicts, the Chesters unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons and our wildest imagination.
More than a feeling
We know you will get in bonus (lots of bonus) steps during Expo East, but moving with health and mindfulness matters even as you put in your 20,000 or more steps. Connect your body, mind, spirit and community at these events:
• Thursday morning Cardio Tai Boxing from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Eutaw Street next to the Hilton. Don’t worry about your lack of boxing skills. This hip-hop filled class focuses more on cardio than boxing prowess.
• Friday Morning Bootcamp, too, will get your blood pumping for a day of networking and negotiating. Celebrity eight-time CrossFit Games athlete Christy Adkins will lead the workout from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Eutaw Street next to the Hilton.
Far more than music
The annual Friday night concert continues down the path started last year by becoming the Friday Community Benefit Concert. The event connects the community of Baltimore with the heart of the natural products industry as attendees gather to load backpacks with healthy food for recipients from Living Classrooms, a Baltimore-area program that offers hands-on education and job training, using urban, natural and maritime resources as “living classrooms.”
A big-name act—Blues Traveler—will take the stage as a thank-you. Yep, that’s Blues Traveler, the band with the longest-charting radio single in Billboard history, “Run-Around,” which earned them a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Join the celebration 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, on Eutaw Street next to the Hilton.
And if you want to get your groove on Thursday, JJ Grey and Mofro will take the Eutaw Street stage from 6 to 8 p.m. with their Southern soul rock.
