Has any thought been given yet to the when and where of the 2010 Citrus Expo?

.....Alan.

Alan I believe it will be held in Wilmington, NC next year.

The 2010 Southeastern Citrus Expo planning has been placed in the capable hands of Terry Reed a certified Citruholic and member of this citrus forum along with Tim Armstrong. Tim is also a member of the Citrus Forum and has been successfully growing citrus there in Wilmington for several years now. Im sure they will be posting more details about the wheres and whens of next years Expo as time goes on.The date of the Expo is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Ryan Atwood who spoke at this years Expo mentioned the possibility of a Citrus Expo in Florida where so much of the research is going on with new varieties, disease protection etc. Ryan emailed me this morning and said he is in the process of setting things up for that meeting so... A.T., guess what??? Tag! You're our official Florida Expo host in 2011!
Hopefully, we can go by your place on that Friday afternoon and take a look at your citrus collection. A back yard bar b que with T bone steaks would be nice as well!

I'd love to have a Citrus Expo here in Florida, but unless the quarantine goes away or they extend it to the entire southeast it's going to make it hard to have a fruit contest. I've been wanting to enter since I went to the 2008 one.

I'm about a hundred miles from Ryan and more than that from most of the commercial citrus belt so it'll be quite a detour to come see my trees, but who knows it might happen...

If a Florida expo does come off I hope we can entice Dr. Manners to speak.

If we get an idea of where in Florida I might be able to scout out a good restaurant for the Friday night get together.

.....Alan.

Ok, Stan mentioned making a tea from the leaves of some of the most aromatic citrus leaves. I think it’s a great idea.
Why don’t we have a food and drink section to the Citrus Expo.
The Ohio Pawpaw Festival has The Pawpaw Cook-Off. With
1. Sauces/Condiments
2. Beverages (including alcoholic drinks)
3. Sweets/Desserts
4. Savories (including entrees, breads, appetizers and salads)

Maybe we could have:
1. Hot citrus leaf beverage.
2. Citrus-ade Many time we talk about, “With some sugar it makes a good Ade” Now we could prove it.
3. Citrus Marmalade.
4. Citrus wine
5. Citrus Ice Cream
6. Citrus enhanced meat dishes

I’m sure we could think of many good entries. This was just off the top of my head.
I think it could add a new dimension to the Expo. Maybe there are some citraholics that don’t have a green thumb or a place to plant a tree but likes to cook. Plus when new people stop in to visit they make see or taste something that makes them want to try growing there own citrus.
Terry

If we can't get enough entries for a contest then maybe at least a display (and sampling?) of various citrus products?

.....Alan.

Hey Terry, Im in for the citrus foods and beverages deal! Maybe I can get the wife to do a taichang lemon pie! Have you and Tim selected a place that will accomodate us?

Stan,
Yeal, I've got a killer Kumquat Cheese Cake and a Sudachi Marmalade that I'd love to enter... Maybe by November it will be a Yuko Marmalade.
I'm still gathering info. The people at the chamber of commerce that I need to talk to wont be back till next week.
I'm running down a Bio. Prof. at UNCW that I know. Sometimes when someone re-marries it harder to find them. Maybe someone in the Bio. dept. will want to help or have it on campus.
I'm running down anyone at I know that has connections. It's one of those situations where I don't want to miss a great place because I found out too late.
It wont be long now.
Terry

I don't know about where you are at Terry, but here the local Master Gardener's Association and County Agent's office can be a lot of help with something like this.

Ned

Tell me, is there any outdoor citrus plantings of sufficient interest in the Wilmington, NC area, that would allow for an expo group tour? - Millet (1,107-)

I've asked Dr. Larry Cahoon at UNC-Wilmington to send an email to his fellow biology colleagues seeking out potential speakers for this year's Expo. He just sent me contact info for a recently retired professor who may be able to help us out. I'll give him a call tonight.

UNC-Wilmington has an Executive Development Center with several nice conference rooms available for rental. The largest room seats something like 160 folks. I've attended conferences there in the past and think the facilities are top-notch. The New Hanover County Arboretum, part of the local Ag Extension Agency, has very knowledgable folks we may be able to tap for a special speaker or two. They also have a beautiful garden for tours with a variety of native plants plus some hardy tropical/subtropical plants like bananas, loquats, and a 10-12 foot tall poncirus trifoliata.

Have you had any luck with your contacts Terry?

This is a little off topic but that area around there is known for having lots of blueberry farms. North Carolina produces hundreds of acres of blueberries. I'm sure there is a substantial farming operation that would be interesting to look at.