The International Herb Association will hold it annual conference in Midland, Michigan July 15 - 19, 2011, at Northwood University a mere 15 minutes from the Tri-City Airport (MBS) in the middle of Midland, Bay City and Saginaw. Midland was a lumber town until Herbert H. Dow discovered vast quantities of underground brine in the 1890's which lead to the formation of the Dow Chemical Company. Northwood University was constructed in 1971 through the contributions of members of the National Automobile Dealers Association, with whom Northwood has shared a unique and long partnership. The campus of Northwood University has 434 wooded acres with walking trails and lots of birds singing. The NADA houses a hotel at a reasonable cost of $55 a night and is minutes away from shopping. The conference itself will be in the Sloan Building which is 100 feet away from the NADA. The Sloan Building Auditorium is equipped with a PC, projector, screen, audio, ability to show DVDs, and internet access both from the teacher's station and wireless for the audience. A great place for a conference. The public is invited to Public Education Day or for the entire conference.

The conference itself will have a Pre-Conference tour on Friday, July 15th, a Public Education Day on Saturday, July 16th, two Professional Days on Sunday and Monday, July 17th and 18th , and a Post-Conference tour on July 19th.

Friday July 15th- The fun begins with the Pre-Conference Tour where we plan to visit:

• Grounds for a Better World. Get your morning coffee, tea or Smoothie and hear the mission of this unique business.
• Eastman Party Store. Visit this unique gourmet food store for Gourmet cheeses and rolls for breakfast.
• Lavender Fleece. Lavender, sheep, llamas, goats, plus many more. Taste some wonderful goodies as Laurie Ball-Gisch tells you about her business.
• Dow Gardens property. Tour the Dow Home, built in 1899 eat a catered lunch and have a guided tour of the 110 acre gardens, with special attention to the rose garden and the children's garden.
• Midland Rolling Garden Tour - A tour of many of the gardens maintained by volunteers throughout Midland.

Saturday, July 16th-Public Education Day

• Jason Powell - an antique rose expert from Alabama
• Jim Long - "How to Eat a Rose"
• Workshops:
  • "The Creative Herbal Home" with Susan Belsinger and Tina Marie Wilcox
  • Making Rose Beads with Davy Dabney
  • Dying Fabric with Herbs with Nancy Momsen (Current President of IHA)
  • Herbal Tipples - Using Herbs in Liqueurs and Wines with Kay Whitlock and Karen O'Brien
  • Making Rose Soap with Marge Powell
  • Chemistry of Roses, Drying Roses and Making Potpourri with Art Tucker and Matthias Reisen
• A segment we are calling "My Favorite Herb Recipe in Less Than 10 minutes." Each herb expert will have 10 minutes to show the audience how to make their favorite herb recipe in less than 10 minutes. Presenters are: Susan Belsinger, Kathryn Clayton, Gert Coleman, Pat Crocker, Pat Gould, Jim Long, Nancy Momsen, Marge Powell, Andrea Reisen, Carolee Snyder, Tina Marie Wilcox plus one special guest.

Sunday and Monday, July 17 & 18- Professional Days

• Linda Askey - From Passion to Print
• Susan Belsinger - Cooking Under the Influence: Using the Mediterranean Herbs & the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (cooking demo)
• Susan Betz - Magical Moons & Seasonal Circles
• Michelle Bomarito - Eat Better and Feel Better with Herbs
• Pat Crocker - Herbs of the Kasbah
• Terry Hollembaek - Herbs of Hawaii
• Chuck Martin -
• Maggie Oster - Otto Richter Memorial Lecture
• Marge Powell - Herbs of the Andes
• Matthias and Andrea Reisen - Chocolate of Jamaica
• arLene Shannon - Culinary Herbal Tidbits, Old and New
• Carolee Snyder - Hosting a Festival
• Art Tucker - Better Living Through Botanical Chemistry
• Tina Marie Wilcox - Herb Growing with Horticultural Minerals
• And More

Tuesday July 19th - Post-Conference Tour

UPDATED May 23, 2011
Tour leaves at 7:45 a.m.

• Breakfast catered on the bus
• St. John's Mint Farm with Peppermint Jim - Tour this famous mint farm and taste some mint refreshments-Tour stop cancelled
• Grand Oak Herb Farm - tour and explanation by Beulah Hargrove of the herb farm and shopping.
• Broken Silo Nursery - owned by John Hargrove. A place to buy all of those unusual herbs you couldn't find anywhere else and always wanted.
• Heavenly Scent Herb Farm - travel to Fenton for a tour of this wonderful herb farm. Have a planned lunch and shop at one of the best herb shops around.
• Abele Greenhouse - This Saginaw greenhouse specializes in roses.
• Kauer's Garden - Crystal has over 300 rose bushes plus a lot more.