It’s time to run away to the circus. The circus for gardenerds, that is. The National Heirloom Expo is this week, Sept. 11-13. Time to ditch work, play hookie, and get yourself to Santa Rosa, CA for 3 days of informative classes, fantastic speakers (if I do say so myself), and THE TOWER OF SQUASH!

The Heirloom Expo

That right there is reason to go. If you don’t go for the airplane hanger filled with table after table of gorgeous squashes, melons, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and more, perhaps you’ll go for the schedule of classes.

Spot the Gardenerd

I’ll be speaking on a Bees and Pollinators Panel at 3:30 on Wednesday, Sept. 12 in the Panel Hall. Then I’m hosting a 5:00 Roundtable on Community Gardens. The rest of the time I’ll be interviewing awesome speakers for upcoming episodes of the Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast. Catch me if you can!

Attend the Seed Exchange

Attend the seed swap on Thursday and come home with crazy seeds you never knew you wanted to grow. Make new friends from across the country and share seeds from your garden.

And so much more!

• Hang out in the Biodynamic Pavilion.
• Let your kids dig for buried treasure in a giant pile of dirt.
• Listen to talented musicians throughout the festival.
• Shop for garden supplies, seeds, and compost tea equipment to your heart’s content (bring an extra suitcase or empty your trunk before you go).
• Visit with rare-breed animals, and witness a giant pumpkin contest.

Just get there. My first year, I flew up for the day because I needed to refresh my soul. It worked, but I vowed to come back the next year for the whole thing. Make this your year to visit the Heirloom Expo.