Thursday, September 7, 2017
Yes! There Really is A Kalamazoo!
Pre-Conference Tour: $95 per person (limited to 25)
9:30 AM departure via bus
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
1.Culinary Arts & Sustainable Food Systems
- Sustainable Brewing Program
- Western Michigan University Gibbs Farm & Food Forest (lunch included)
- Southern Exposure Herb Farm Tour and Dinner http://www.southernmoon.com/
6:45 PM return to Kellogg Center
Friday September 8, 2017 and Saturday September 9, 2017 ~ Schedule of Conference Presentations & Sessions
Nationally recognized experts in their field of herbs will talk about Humulus ssp the Herb of the Year™ 2018 and other related herbal subjects. Hop varieties, growing, harvesting, drying, and storing hop cones will be covered. Learn the history, uses and origins of hops and the future of hops in the 21 century. Presentations featuring cooking, craft and medicinal demonstrations will also be included. Hops, not just for brewing!
Friday Program September 9, 2017
8: 30-9:00 IHA -Annual Meeting of Members
9:00 -9:45 IHA Otto Richter Lecture, Scott Alan Stokes
Scott Alan Stokes is Co-owner of Southern Exposure Farm located in Battle Creek, Michigan. Southern Exposure was founded in 1992 by Scott Stokes, his mother Sandy Stokes, and Curtis Whitaker. His mother, known as the Herb Lady, passed in 1995 and Scott wanted to honor his mother’s love for herbs by continuing with Southern Exposure Farm. His passion in life is gardening and designing. Scott has become one of the most recognized garden and design experts in Southwest Michigan, providing ideas and inspiration through multiple media venues. He teaches 215 workshops annually at Southern Exposure Herb Farm with emphasis on herbs, especially culinary herbs. He loves to travel overseas to see different styles of gardening and design, and participates in the eight overseas trips which Southern Exposure hosts annually. Scott retired from the U.S. Air Force with a distinguished 28 year military career where he served as an Intelligence Officer and Counter Drug Officer.
10:00 11:00 Hops: From Pint to Pillow to Bitters, Bath & Beyond, Susan Belsinger
This program will cover the many uses of hops, both traditional and non-traditional (Humulus lupulus) around the globe and throughout history. Susan will briefly address why hops are an essential ingredient in making beer and she will touch on fragrance and flavor. Susan will also discuss the chemical constituents in hops, as well as the medicinal aspects for relaxation–why they help us to sleep whether taken as a tea, used in the tub or in a dream pillow. Given their very bitter properties, Susan will explain how they aid digestion and how to prepare your own bitters for a digestive.
Susan Belsinger is a culinary herbalist, educator, food writer and photographer. She travels widely giving lectures and demonstrations, has published in Fine Gardening, Organic Gardening, Food and Wine, The Herb Companion and The Washington Post. She has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS Morning News and National Public Radio. She has written a number of best selling cookbooks. Susan and Arthur O. Tucker recently co-authored The Culinary Herbal: Growing and Using 97 Flavorful Herbs published by Timber Press in January 2016.
11:15 to 11:30 Break
11:30 – 12:30 Wildcrafted Herbs and Fresh Pressed Oils: How Locally Sourced Ingredients are a Recipe for Success, Ben Cohen
Ben will be exploring the value of using wildcrafted, locally grown herbs from ones own bio-region. He will compare quality, potency and sustainability of locally sourced herbs versus store bought. Ben will also cover small scale oil production for use in herbal formulations and why freshly cold pressed oils are superior to the commercial alternatives. Small House’s Hemp Seed oil was named a finalist in the 2017 Good Food Awards.
Ben Cohen is owner of Small House Farm; a small homestead business located in Sanford, MI. Ben has been practicing herbalism on a personal and commercial level for a number of years through his homestead business, Small House Farm. All of Small House products are crafted from herbs personally grown or gathered from the wild.We also cold press oil from various seeds and nuts for use in our herbal creations. Gardens Across America: Ben is the Regional Coordinator of the U.S. Central Region Gardens Across America.
Lunch: 12:30 to 1:30
Visit Venders
1:30 -2:15 “Getting a Grip on the Slick” Tina Marie Wilcox
In her colorful and delightful entertaining way, our own, award-winning Tina Marie will delight us with an in-depth look at plant-based mucilage —what it is and how it is useful and how to extract it.
Tina Marie uses humor and drama to capture the imagination and inform folks about the history of herbs and beneficial plants. Since 1984 , Tina Marie Wilcox has served as the head herbalist and gardener at Ozark Mountains State Park’s Heritage Herb Garden in Mountain View, Arkansas.
15 Minute Break
2:30-4:30 Great Hops Cook Off with Donna Frawley and Friends
This fun, quick paced offering includes ten minute cooking segments for each of some of the Herb World’s best cooks. Each person/s will demonstrate one of their favorite recipes using hops – either in the form of beer or other forms. There will be some tastings offered after the session is complete.
- SUSAN BELSINGER & TINA MARIE WILCOX – WELSH RAREBIT
- MARGE POWELL – Gumpki (goŁąbki)
- KATHRYN AND ADRIENNE – BEER DIP
- SKYE SUTER – BEER BATTER VEGETABLES
- GERT COLEMAN – HOPS TEA
- PAT CROCKER – SEVEN HERB CHILI
- ANDREA REISEN – MUSHROOMS AND BEER
- DIANE NANCE – POTATOES WITH DRESSING
- CONNIE HANSON – BEER AND CHEESE FONDUE
4:30 Meet & Greet and Book Signing
The International Herb Association extends a warm welcome to students, non- and aspiring-members, as well as the general public. Our membership includes culinary and medical herbalists, teachers, writers, authors, photographers, horticulturalists, botanists, herb growers, and herb business owners. We learn from each other and we support each other…and we invite you to ask us how we are able to do what we love!
Join the eleven Great Hops Cook-Off presenters as well as all conference book authors in an informal tasting session of beery bites. Wander around, check out the books, purchase, and have the author sign your copy, and best of all, ask us how we can help you aspire to your green dreams. This is your chance to be mentored by some of the country’s most interesting herbal practitioners.
2017 Conference Presenters and their Books
Susan Belsinger The Culinary Herbal: Growing and Preserving 97 Flavorful Herbs
Susan Betz Neighboring with Nature, Native Herbs for Pleasure & Purpose
Janice Cox Natural Beauty at Home; Natural Beauty From the Garden; Natural Beauty with Hops
Pat Crocker The Healing Herbs Cookbook; Coconut 24/7; Preserving
Gert Coleman Coriander: Herb of the Year™ 2017
Connie Hanson Herbs: Recipes, Crafts and Gifts from Grand Shire Farm; Seasonal Salads and Sensational Homemade Dressings
Gudrun Penselin Healing Spirituality: Working with Bach Flowers
Skye Suter The Herbal Leaf Newsletter
Tina Marie Wilcox The Creative Herbal Home; Not Just Desserts
Friday Evening: Dinner on Your Own
Saturday Program September 9, 2017 ~ Early AM Coffee Seminar 7:30 a.m. 8:45 a.m.
Design your own website Online presence: Internet Marketing for the Small Business Theresa Mieseler,Shady Acres Herb Farm, Chaska, Minnesota
Do you have a website firm design and manage your site? It’s fun and easy and will save you money to design your own site whether it is to sell products online or just have a website for informational purposes. We’ll touch on content of a site and linking it to social media. Bring your laptop or mobile device to this session.
Theresa has been a grower for over 40 years specializing in herbs, heirloom vegetables and native woodland wildflowers and recently retired from the Herb Farm last year. Theresa is a member of the International Herb Association, Herb Society of America (recipient of the Nancy Putman Award for Excellence in Horticulture) and Garden Writers Association. She also introduced Shady Acres Rosemary into the trade in 1999.
9:00 – 9:45 Hops or Not, A Tale of Humulus lupulus , Rexford Talbert
A history of beer, both ancient and modern with a detailed description of malting and brewing styles. The chemistry and morphology of Humulus lupulus will be addressed along with the historical factors that drove the evolution of modern brewing.
Rex is a past member of the North American Rock Garden Society and the Washington Botanical Society. He authored a number of articles in the Herbarist, The Herb Companion, Kitchen Gardens, The Gilded Herb, Proceedings of the International Herb Association & similar publications. As a speaker on herbal subjects for 60 years, Rex has taught classes at the U.S. National Arboretum, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and at the College of William & Mary Christopher Wren Association for Life Long Learning. He has given over 350 herbal, culinary and gardening lectures to HSA Units and Regions, garden groups and other civic gatherings. Recipient of the Herb Society of America Nancy Putnam Howard Award for Horticultural Excellence
10:00 -10:45 The Scoop on Hops, Jeff Steinman
As Production Manager at Hop Head Farms, Jeff has a decade of hop experience. Jeff will share his enthusiasm and knowledge about hop varieties, growing, harvesting, drying, and storing hop cones.
Jeff began his adventure in 2007 by planting a few hops rhizomes in his back yard. Soon hops grew into a passion fueled by the amazing brewing community in Michigan. Hop Head Farms LLC is a Midwest grower, processor, and marketer of high quality and traditional hop varieties. Attention to detail and sustainable growing practices are used throughout all operations in order to deliver the highest quality hops to our brewers. In addition to Michigan hops, we import the best hand selected aroma and traditional hops from Germany, Czech Republic and Slovenia.
11:00 -11:45 Nips & Nibbles From the Herb Garden, The HerbMeister, Stephen Lee
Join STEPHEN LEE, the HerbMeister, as he gleans the herbage and bottles the essence of summer. This demonstration will probe the liquidity of the herb garden and analyze its most unusual possibilities with the exploration of brews, infusions, distillations and immersions. You’ll learn and taste a variety of potables, some potent and some not -and encounter several nibbles prepared with their essence. This seminar will help you expand your garden’s potential and grow your list of craft-made libations.
Stephen Lee’s culinary interests are a result of a ‘burgooish’ food heritage. Born in Evansville, Indiana and reared in Louisville, Kentucky, Stephen studied at the stovetop of his southern-cooking mother, at the hand and in the herb garden of his country-cooking grandmother, in the fields of his melon and strawberry-growing grandfather and in the bowels of a century-old Germanic neighborhood bakery. University culinary training and personal tutoring by Irish-born, French-trained Master Chef Harvey Colgin prepared Stephen for his work and continuing education in the everyday-academies of small cafes, fine restaurants, banquet hotels and cooking schools.
Lunch :11:45 to 1:00
1:00 – 2:00 West African Bitters and the Eternal Quest for Virility , Conrad Richter
Herbal bitters are popular in West Africa, particularly among the men who take them in the belief that these drinks enhance virility. There are many commercially made bitters sold in the markets and stores. In the villages one can find unique traditional variations made with locally available herbs. For men, sitting down with friends to enjoy a bottle of herbal bitters is a social ritual, one that likely has important health benefits that go well beyond matters of sexual performance and potency. In this presentation we will look at some of the herbs that are commonly used in these drinks, and why.
Conrad is president of Richters Herbs. He has been involved with Richters since 1967 when as a child, he helped in the greenhouses and in the fields after school and on weekends. His interest in herbs took flight when he helped his father prepare the first Richters herb catalogue in 1970. He served on the boards of the International Herb Association and Ontario Herbalists Association, and also served as a trustee of the IHA Foundation. Conrad has a Master of Science degree in botany from the University of Toronto.
2:15-3:30 Decorating with Hops, Scott Allen Stokes
Growing hops is not just a beer-brewer’s hobby. More and more, gardeners nationwide are growing hops simply because they are attractive and interesting plants. One of the most recognized garden and design experts in Michigan, Scott will share 25 creative and inspiring ideas for using hops in and out of the garden.
3:15 – 4:30 Natural Beauty with Hops , Janice Cox
“Hops are a useful herb that has been used for centuries as a key ingredient in beer. They are also beneficial to your skin and hair as a calming and cleansing ingredient. Hops are high in natural oils and tannins, which help reduce inflammation and naturally remove toxins and surface bacteria. They are well suited for all skin types especially helpful for troubled skin and mature skin. Hops are also relaxing to your whole body and used in the bath can calm and soothe tired minds and muscles. The beautiful thing about home beauty is that it really works!
Janice Cox is America’s leading DIY Natural Beauty expert. She is the author of three best-selling books on the subject of Natural Beauty: Natural Beauty at Home, Natural Beauty for All Seasons and Natural Beauty from the Garden. She also co-authored EcoBeauty with her daughter Lauren Cox. Her recipes and ideas have appeared in a number of national magazines and online. She writes a regular column in Herb Quarterly, Mother Earth Living and Living Without magazines. She has also appeared on television and radio programs discussing the topic of Natural Beauty.
6:00 Dinner IHA Banquet W.K. Kellogg Manor House
Saturday evening the IHA banquet and Foundation auction will be held at W.K. Kellogg Manor House. A gorgeous estate over looking Gull Lake, this lovely historic home is the former estate of cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg and his wife, Dr. Carrie Staines Kellogg.
For more history please visit: ( http://conference.kbs.msu.edu/manor-house/manor-house-history/
Sunday, September 10, 2017 Post Conference Tours
Post Conference Tour #1
West Michigan Beer Tours with John Liberty –$95 per person (limited to 25) Lunch included
Origination 11 a.m. departure-WK Kellogg Biological Station
Stop 1 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.–Hop Head Farms, tour and samples
Stop 2 1-2:30 p.m.–Bell’s Comstock Brewery, tour and samples
Stop 3 3-4 p.m.–Texas Corners Brewing Co., meet-and-greet, samples or pint
Termination 4:30 p.m.–WK Kellogg Biological Station,
Post Conference Workshop # 2
The Healing Power of Plants
Spruce Lodge W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary -$75.00 per person lunch included
9:00-12: 00 The Healing Power of Plants: INTRODUCTION TO BACH FLOWERS – GENTLE HEALING FROM WITHIN
NOTE: Both the morning and afternoon workshops are experiential and require the active participation of all students.
“Health depends on being in harmony with our souls.” Dr. Edward Bach
Bach Flowers essences are subtle plant medicines that encourage true healing in a very safe and gentle, yet effective way. Through practical exercises students will experience the effects of Bach Flowers on an individual basis and learn how to incorporate them into their daily life. (Theory and practice will be interwoven throughout the entire workshop.)
12:00-12:30 Lunch (included)
12:30 -1:30 WK Kellogg Pollinator Garden WalkingTour
1:45 – 4:00 The Healing Power of Plants: EARTH WISDOM – COMMUNICATING WITH PLANT SPIRIT
“Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” ~ Albert Einstein
Each one of us has the ability to hear the “voices” of the plant kingdom and receive their messages. You will learn through guided exercises how to connect to plant spirit and how to receive guidance and teachings from the wonderful world of Mother Earth. Re-connecting to Nature is a prerequisite for the much needed healing of the Earth.
Gudrun Penselin Canadian herbalist and author of Healing Spirituality: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Working with Bach Flowers will present morning and afternoon workshops.
Please dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes. A fall day in Michigan is an event to behold in itself. Lunch, supplies and Gundrun’s book Healing Spirituality are included in the cost of the workshop.
6:00 P.M. Sunday Evening BBQ and Campfire
$ 20.00 per person. If you would like to attend this event, you need indicate this on your conference registration form.
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