I think most of the permies would enjoy a weekend at The Land Institute during their annual Prairie Festival. I've attended before and high recommend it. In addition to the great speakers and an update on the field research the institute is doing, there are fun social events such as an authentic barn dance and a wonderful evening giant bon fire where people pick up instruments and sing along or listen to improvised blue grass.
Prairie Festival 2015
September 25, 2015 to September 27, 2015
The line-up for Prairie Festival 2015, our 37th, is shaping up nicely. As usual, we have some seriously smart speakers, including Ricardo Salvador (Union of Concerned Scientists), John Cobb, Jr. (environmentalist/theologian/philosopher), Mary Evelyn Tucker (Yale), Peter Kenmore (agricultural entomologist at the United Nation’s FAO), Angus Wright (author and co-founder of Environmental Studies at Cal State, Sacramento), and, of course, Wes Jackson (all-round environmental hero).
The gallery artist is Dornith Doherty, of Southlake, Texas, and the Saturday night music will be D-Squared.
Here's the webpage and a place where you can register online:
https://landinstitute.org/events/calendar-events/prairie-festival-2015
