There’s still room at the table, so to speak, for last-minute registrants at the Kerr Tar Council of Government economic summit that will take place Thursday, Oct. 8 at McGregor Hall in downtown Henderson.

The event begins at 10 a.m. and features remarks by North Carolina’s First Lady, Anna Stein, said Desiree Brooks, KTCOG’s community and economic development manager.

“We are so excited to have her come,” Brooks said, adding that Stein is a “huge advocate” for rural tourism.

Registration is $40, and the first 250 people to have signed up will get a swag bag, as well as a lunch and a ticket to exchange for an ice cream dessert.

A panel discussion after lunch will feature representatives from five agritourism farms, and Brooks said they’re all working farms whose owners have added an agritourism layer.

“They’re all very different,” she said, and participants will get a chance to hear their distinct stories and the importance of farms and farming in our communities.

A pop-up market will be set up at lunchtime, and by the time the summit is over about 3:30 or so, Brooks said she hopes participants will hang around, mingle with others from the community and buy items from the vendors that will be set up outside McGregor Hall on Breckenridge Street. The Konnection Band will provide live music from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a festive atmosphere as folks do some shopping, sit outside and enjoy the music, she said.

Shoppers will find a variety of local produce and goods, from fresh-cut flowers, garden mums and perennials to hand-tied fishing lures, custom jewelry, goat milk lotions and soaps, local wildflower honey and breads, cookies and pastries from Strong Arm Baking Co.

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