About 1,000 gardening enthusiasts from at least 42 states and two Canadian provinces are expected to gather in Charleston Oct. 11-14 to attend the International Master Gardener Conference 2011.
The event, to be headquartered in the Charleston Civic Center, "will have a $500,000 economic impact on the city," said Jama Jarrett, spokeswoman for the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The conference will open with a "Taste of West Virginia" event showcasing state-grown foods ranging from ramp chowder to pulled pork. "We have 15 pounds of frozen ramps ready to go," said Barber.
In addition to lectures and workshops on gardening topics, there will be day tours to such destinations as Kanawha State Forest, Capital Market, the state Capitol grounds, Coonskin Park, the Carriage Trail, Spring Hill Cemetery, the gardens of Charleston's East End, the State Farm Museum, Blenko Glass in Milton, and Tamarack and the Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley.
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