Slow Living Summit will be Virtual This Year

BRATTLEBORO, VT – The tenth annual Slow Living Summit has been reimagined as a virtual conference.  

Presented by Strolling of the Heifers and Windham Grows, the Summit’s theme is “Take a Bite Out of Climate Change” with live keynote presentations by Bill McKibben, Frances Moore Lappé, Tom Newmark and Sandra Steingraber.

“These past few months dealing with a global health crisis has shone a light on how incredibly urgent climate change issues are,” said Summit organizer, Jennifer Brandt. “We are encouraging panelists to discuss the ways in which COVID-19 has changed the very nature of their businesses. This truly has affected us all.” 

Keynote talks will be presented live via Zoom on Thursday, June 4, and Friday, June 5. Each keynote will be followed by a Q&A  session. 

Panel discussions with Q&A will happen daily Monday, June 8 through Friday, June 10. Panelists will include representatives from Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Real Pickles, VSECU, and Vermont Employee Ownership Center; as well as many farmers, a winemaker, and VT Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman.

In addition to the panel discussions, the Summit includes two virtual happy hours, on Friday, June 5, and Thursday, June 11, giving all attendees a chance to connect with keynote speakers and panelists in a more informal setting. 

Thanks to the new virtual format, the Summit will feature presentations not previously possible. A couple of highlights are Dave Cohen of Vbikes with a presentation and virtual E-bike demonstration and Karen Washington of Rise and Root farm doing a farm tour and talk. 

“Going digital means that we can continue our mission of connecting like-minded individuals on an even larger scale!” enthused Strolling of the Heifers Executive Director, Lissa Harris. “We have an opportunity to reach a much wider audience, and be really creative with our presentations. This could also mean access to summit content well into the future for those who can’t travel to Vermont even after the governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order is lifted.”  

You can find out more about the Summit and register at www.slowlivingsummit.org. 

Strolling of the Heifers is a non-profit organization with the mission of connecting people with healthy local food, encouraging, and facilitating innovation and entrepreneurship in the farm/food sector, and supporting the development of stronger local food systems and healthy, sharing, connected and resilient communities. More information at www.StrollingOfTheHeifers.com.

Windham Grows, a project of Strolling of the Heifers, is a socially responsible accelerator that builds the food and agriculture sector by connecting socially conscious startup and early-stage businesses. The program provides critical services, resources, financing and business mentors. www.windhamgrows.org.