August 18, 2017
CapitalPress.com
5
Farwest Show promises the extraordinary
By ALIYA HALL
Capital Press
Location: Oregon Convention Center in Portland
Date: August 23-25
Times: Wednesday, Noon-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.;
Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Tickets: Trade show floor passes are $20.
Courtesy of OAN
Participants peruse the exhibits at a past Farwest Show. There will
be more than 400 exhibitors at the show.
Growing Trends
is “Urban Life-
style Garden-
ing,”
which
aims to “home
in on popular
consumer trends
Allan Niemi and how they
can be created
in landscaping and at your gar-
den center,” according to the
Farwest website.
Forty-two new plant variet-
ies and nine new products will
also be showcased. Plant vari-
eties are divided into the four
categories: tree, shrub, peren-
nials and grasses. Show partici-
pants and a panel of judges will
vote for the best new varieties
and new products, Niemi said.
The show will also feature
three nursery country tours
with the themes “Out West,”
“Coniferifi c” and “Secret Gar-
den” that will explore nursery
country, conifer production and
retail garden centers in Port-
land.
Thirty-one speakers will of-
fer seminars on a range of top-
ics, from “Soil Erosion Solu-
tions” to “Are you Digitally
Relevant?”
Six seminars will have
Spanish translations, and two
will be given only in Spanish.
Two additional mini-ses-
sions, “Grower Solution Cen-
ter” and “Retailer Idea Center,”
are also available, as are pesti-
cide applicator classes.
The Farwest Show also in-
cludes networking events such
as the “Emergent Networking:
A Group for Growing Profes-
sionals” and “Women in Hor-
ticulture.”
Participants will also have
the opportunity to “Walk the
Show Floor with Experts,”
which include “Trend Spot-
ting” with Brie Arthur and
“Plant Spotting” with Sean
Hogan.
A new addition to the Far-
west show will be “Happy
Hour,” a celebration that will
conclude the fi rst day of the
event.
“We are trying to emphasize
the social aspect of this,” Niemi
said. “When you get 6,000
people together, yes, business
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PORTLAND — The 2017
Farwest Show will be far from
ordinary as it enters its 45th
year.
In fact, this year’s theme is
“Be Far From Ordinary.”
The show will be Aug. 23-
25 at the Oregon Convention
Center in Portland.
“We have strong education-
al components and we want to
utilize that,” said Allan Niemi,
director of events at the Oregon
Association of Nurseries. “We
evolved to show more things
that people can achieve and
gain by taking part in a Farwest
Show.”
Past registration has aver-
aged more than 6,000 buyers
and has grown 6 to 10 percent
during each of the past two
years, Niemi said. It has seen
“really strong registration” this
year as well, along with more
than 400 exhibitors.
The opening-day key-
note address, “Connections:
Cultivating Your Company
and Your Professional Life,”
will be presented by Terri
McEnaney, president of Bailey
Nurseries.
Farwest will also feature
three showcases: Growing
Trends, New Varieties and New
Products.
The theme for this year’s
is made on the show fl oor,
but it’s amazing how much
more can be accomplished and
strengthened within the social
aspects that we can provide
as well.”
This will also be the sixth
year of the Farwest’s pub crawl,
which will be on day two. The
fi rst stop: the Doug Fir Lounge.
“We want people to expe-
rience the essence of Portland.
Our beer scene, wine and pub
scene,” Niemi said. “It’s such
a strong element of our iden-
tity here in Portland, and we
brought that into play.”
Niemi said that the pub
crawl has grown so much that
they’ve had “a couple hundred”
people join in.