Garden Center Symposium ends after 52 years

The 2016 Garden Center Symposium, hosted in Waukesha, Wis., Jan. 20-21, was the final event the GCS group will host, according to an announcement on the group's homepage. 

The announcement was made to discontinue the symposium on March 30, according to representative Eileen Nelson. Citing difficulties with rising event costs, officials with the symposium thanked attendees and partners for their support over the years.

"For 52 years the Garden Center Symposium has brought education, information and collegiality to the garden center/grower industry throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois," the announcement reads.

"It is, therefore, with mixed feelings, that the board of the Symposium announces that the 2016 event was our last event. Unfortunately, when rising costs and lowered revenues intersect at a critical point, the feasibility of sponsoring such an event ceases to exist. After 52 years, The Garden Center Symposium has reached that point.

"Members of the board are proud to have served the industry with top-notch education over the years and are confident that means and methods for interaction and education will continue to evolve in the industry.

"Thank you to everyone who has in anyway contributed to our successful run."

The announcement did not make clear if the symposium group will continue offer scholarships.