All-America Selections announced it will visit a state that it has never toured for an AAS summer meeting June 16 to June 19, 2014. The educational tour will take place in vibrant North Carolina's farms and markets in Asheville and Charlotte. The trip will begin in the Charlotte area, then attendees will travel to beautiful Asheville, seeing many horticulture sights along the way during the 2014 "Summer Road Trip."
The 2014 AAS Summer Summit/Road Trip is being held during the same week as the 2014 Southern Garden Tour, giving attendees the opportunity to visit multiple stops to see many varied flower and plant trials in the southeast on one trip
Registration for the AAS Summer Summit and hotels will open on March 1, 2014. AAS will have more information available soon, but for now, the organization asks that those interested in the trip mark their calendars.
AAS also provided more details about what's planned each day of the tour:
Monday, June 16
Fly into the Charlotte-Douglas International airport and use our hotel's complimentary shuttle to get to our host hotel, just minutes from the airport, for that evening's Opening Night Reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tuesday, June 17
Get an early start so you can check out of our first host hotel and pack your luggage for the trip to Asheville. Then join the group and stock up on your first southern breakfast, after which you will enjoy a short "Welcome to North Carolina" presentation. Once we load our buses, we'll head to the North Carolina Research Center in Kannapolis for an eye-opening view of how our industry's products are being reconsidered in a number of new health and nutrition research projects. Next we'll make the short drive to Huntersville, NC for lunch and a tour of the impressive Metrolina Greenhouses and their AAS Trials. Later that afternoon, we'll take the scenic drive to Asheville, NC and upon arrival and check-in at our second hotel, enjoy an evening in downtown Asheville, the self-proclaimed Foodtopia and Brewtopia of the United States!
Wednesday, June 18
Today has us again covering a lot of territory when we begin with a visit to the Western North Carolina Farmer's Market where we'll enjoy breakfast of famous made from scratch biscuits at local farm-to-table restaurant, The Moose Cafe. Then join us as we explore the foothills of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains and visit several small growing operations, research farms and small business facilities. After lunching on locally grown fare, we'll make our way to Van Wingerden International, another large growing facility that is also home to several AAS Trials. That evening will be our annual awards and recognition dinner then back to our base hotel in Asheville for a second night.
Thursday, June 19
Our last day in North Carolina will include several options:
1. Stay in Asheville on your own for further exploration
2. Travel to other local trial sites that are part of the Southern Garden Tour
3. Enjoy the bus ride back to Charlotte in order to catch afternoon flights