PlantCon plant convention to debut in Houston
With Heart Collective has announced PlantCon International, an inaugural global plant convention taking place May 19-20 at NRG Center in Houston, Texas.
The event kicks off with a pre-party on May 18 for all visitors, vendors, and volunteers at Equal Parts Brewing; a closing reception will be held on May 21 at the Houston Botanic Garden.
PlantCon aims to unite plant enthusiasts from all over the world for an immersive weekend experience, centralizing the international plant community and facilitating connections between the many (sometimes distant) worlds that exist within the hobby. These include bonsai, native planting, carnivorous, aquatics, edible gardening, indoor houseplants, conservancy and more.
One highlight of PlantCon is the 100-vendor plant market and exhibition, featuring both national and local growers, offering rare and hard-to-find plants for enthusiasts to indulge and delight in. PlantCon will also feature seminars and workshops from field experts on various topics ranging from foraging, mycology, land and nature conservancy, indoor plant care, native landscaping, and more.
PlantCon has non-profit mission to promote inclusivity and visibility for all national and international plant organizations, particularly those leading the way in sustainability and conservation efforts. PlantCon believes that the key to driving progress in the plant world and its community is by closing the divide between specialized plant organizations and the wider community of plant enthusiasts. By uniting these communities, PlantCon aims to foster connections, promote collaboration, and facilitate knowledge sharing among plant enthusiasts, organizations, and industry leaders.
PlantCon was founded by the same team as Houston Plant Market (HPM), a local gathering that started as a way for local plant people to connect safely during the pandemic. Over the years, the gathering grew exponentially, expanding from coffee shop parking lots to botanic gardens and city-sponsored venues. Houston Plant Market extended its work beyond the plant world alone by establishing With Heart, a collective of nonprofits supporting and uplifting all minority owned small businesses. Under With Heart Collective, Houston Plant Market is amplifying this mission at an international and global scale through PlantCon, while promoting sustainability, conservancy, and eco-consciousness.
“It’s a bit of a shock how far we’ve come,” said Kenny Nguyen, founder of With Heart Collective. “We’re just believers in community building and doing what we can to bring people together. We feel so grateful that others have found value in our work over the past three years leading up to this. We love what we get to do, so why not take it global and share it with the world, right?”
PlantCon is open to plant enthusiasts of all levels, from beginners to seasoned plant collectors, and offers an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. “We’re committed to making PlantCon accessible and inclusive to all, and we welcome everyone to join us in having good, unpretentious, and down-to-earth fun. Plants make people happy!” said Nguyen.
For more information, visit www.plantcon.org.
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