The detailed 2023 Outdoor Economy Conference agenda is still being built, but in the interest of making your planning a little easier, our core schedule of workshop/summit, reception, and main conference start and end times is available below.
If you are interested in leading a workshop like the IMBA Trail Development Workshop on Monday afternoon, or hosting a summit like the Higher Education and the Outdoor Industry Summit happening on Thursday morning, please reach out to us. *
*Please note that we require all summit and workshop attendees to also be signed up for at least one day of the Outdoor Economy Conference.
If you have any questions about the event schedule, contact our team at [email protected].
Trail Planning & Development Workshop - Registration Opening Late Spring
Back by popular demand, this workshop will guide community leaders through the core elements of planning, designing, and implementing a trail development project.
Summits (TBA)
We've already confirmed that two major national outdoor industry leadership groups will be hosting their 2023 membership gatherings before or after the Outdoor Economy Conference. If you've got a group of outdoor industry, nonprofit, government, and/or community leaders who want to get together on Monday afternoon or Thursday morning, we've got rooms available ranging from an ~18 person Board Room, to a couple of smaller breakout rooms, and full-sized breakout rooms seating 200+ people.
Excursions & Site Visits - Registration Opening Late Spring
Based on feedback from 2022, we've moved our site visits and excursions to happen on the afternoon before the Conference officially begins. We're talking to site hosts and excursion leaders now. As always, we work hard to make sure that these outings combine hands-on outdoor adventures with deep education about the inner workings of building an outdoor economy, and the places and people that make WNC so uniquely diverse.
Our staff will be set up just in front of the Expo Hall on the first floor of the Cherokee Convention Center to get you and your colleagues registered for the event, and to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have.
As a reminder: we will not be doing any ticket transfers after the Friday before the event (9/15), and this event has sold out ahead of time every single year that it's been held in person.
So please make sure that all of your attendees, including any sponsor tickets or exhibitor booth staff, have their tickets secured before the Conference begins.
The official start of the 2023 Outdoor Economy Conference will kick off with a welcoming address from our hosts, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, as well as our conference MC, followed by quick and energizing opening keynote. There will be networking before and after, including facilitated networking opportunities.
Monday's reception will feature heavy hors d'oeuvres and a nice selection of local and national beverages (including tasty local NA options, beers, wines, and spirits).
Attendees will get a free drink ticket for each reception they're registered for, with Full Conference ticket holders being automatically registered for all 3 evening receptions, and Single-Day or Opening Reception-only ticket holders being registered for their corresponding days.
Enjoy a hot breakfast and gourmet coffee while catching up with colleagues, and meeting new friends in our main stage event space and Expo Hall.
For those checking in on Tuesday morning:
Our staff will be set up just in front of the Expo Hall on the first floor of the Cherokee Convention Center to get you and your colleagues registered for the event, and to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have.
As a reminder: we will not be doing any ticket transfers after the Friday before the event (9/15), and this event has sold out ahead of time every single year that it's been held in person.
So please make sure that all of your attendees, including any sponsor tickets or exhibitor booth staff, have their tickets secured before the Conference begins.
We are still dialing in content for our main conference agenda, but you can expect impactful, practical, and inspiring keynote speakers and panels to start the day, followed by breakout sessions and roundtables diving into key topics affecting the outdoor economy both today, and into the future.
Our meals and receptions will be held in the main stage event space and Expo Hall (which share a 34,000sf room on the first floor of the Cherokee Convention Center.)
We will make sure that facilitated networking opportunities are available, as well as active outdoor pursuits, to make connecting easy and exciting, and keep the stoke strong.
We are still dialing in content for our main conference agenda, but you can expect Tuesday afternoon to be a mix of breakout sessions, deep-dive workshops, and stakeholder roundtables diving into key topics affecting the outdoor economy both today, and into the future.
Tasty beverages (including NA options) and equally tasty light bites will keep the conversations flowing as the evening starts to ramp up.
Attendees will get a free drink ticket for each reception they're registered for (with Full Conference ticket holders being registered for all 3 evening receptions, and Single-Day or Opening Reception-only ticket holders being registered for their corresponding days)
Tuesday's happy hour food will be light*, and the restaurants in/around the Cherokee Convention Center get booked up pretty fast, so we recommend reserving a table in advance if you want to stay on site for dinner. We'll also be working with local food trucks and nearby communities to make sure that plenty of options are available if you want to dine al fresco or make a little trip to a nearby town.
*Sponsors, speakers, and other VIPs will have a reception during this time, with heavy hors d'ouevres*
Be a legend of late-night by sponsoring the afterparty on Day 1 of the Conference. We’ve got a sweet outdoor deck available for a DJ or small band, plenty of delicious drinks and snack options to pick from, and with your help, the connections and brilliant (in the moment, at least) ideas will keep flowing until everyone really ought to go to bed anyway.
We are still dialing in content for our main conference agenda, but you can expect impactful, practical, and inspiring keynote speakers and panels to start the day, followed by breakout sessions and roundtables diving into key topics affecting the outdoor economy both today, and into the future.
Our meals and receptions will be held in the main stage event space and Expo Hall (which share a 34,000sf room on the first floor of the Cherokee Convention Center.)
We will make sure that facilitated networking opportunities are available, as well as active outdoor pursuits, to make connecting easy and exciting, and keep the stoke strong.
We are still dialing in content for our main conference agenda, but you can expect Tuesday afternoon to be a mix of breakout sessions, deep-dive workshops, and stakeholder roundtables diving into key topics affecting the outdoor economy both today, and into the future.
We'll wrap up the event with a closing ceremony and a sneak preview of the 2024 Outdoor Economy Conference, before turning the evening over to a lovely local craft food and beverage tasting reception to close out the formal programming of the 2023 OEC.
Enjoy samples of craft beverages (including NA options and hard-to-find local brews) alongside locally-sourced light bites in the closing reception for the 2023 Outdoor Economy Conference.
So many good people, and only a little bit longer to catch up or make big plans... it's worth it to stay this little bit longer if you can.
And keep your eyes open for summits and workshops being announced in the coming months - Thursday morning is likely to have some great options popping up soon.
Much like Tuesday night, the food on Wednesday is more snack/appetizer than heavy hors d'oeuvres, so if you're sticking around, the restaurants in and around the Cherokee Convention Center can get booked up pretty fast. So we recommend reserving a table in advance if you want to stay on site for dinner. We'll also be working with local food trucks and nearby communities to make sure that plenty of options are available if you want to dine al fresco or make a little trip to a nearby town.
Workshops (TBD)
We are open to ideas for workshops that address our conference's core theme (Connecting the Ecosystem) and tracks (coming soon!) If you've got something in mind, please contact our team.
Summits (TBA)
We've already confirmed that two major national outdoor industry leadership groups will be hosting their 2023 membership gatherings before or after the Outdoor Economy Conference. If you've got a group of outdoor industry, nonprofit, government, and/or community leaders who want to get together on Monday afternoon or Thursday morning, we've got rooms available ranging from an ~18 person Board Room, to a couple of smaller breakout rooms, and full-sized breakout rooms seating 200+ people.
For those checking in on Tuesday morning:
Registration is in front of the Expo Hall on the first floor of the Cherokee Convention Center. Check in to get your conference pass, and ask our staff any questions.
Important reminder: we will not transfer any tickets after September 15th, and we will not re-assign conference badges on site.
Please make sure that all attendees, sponsors and exhibitor booth staff have their tickets secured under their correct name before the Conference begins.
777 Casino Dr. Cherokee, NC 28719
Working Together to Ensure a Vibrant Future for the Outdoor Economy and Our Outdoor Communities.
