Featured image: Viva Fresh opening 2019
Since launching 2015 as a small, regional trade show “with the goal of shining a light on the importance of the Lower Rio Grande Valley as an emerging trade corridor and production zone,” the Viva Fresh Expo has more than doubled in size and has blossomed into one of the produce industry’s bright stars – all while maintaining its focus on the S. Texas-Mexico corridor.
Set for April 30-May 2, again at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, this year’s expo will feature great educational sessions/roundtables and workshops, a lively golf tourney, receptions and business meetings and a keynote address by Dr. Ian Smith, author of 17 books, nine of which are NY Times bestsellers.
Currently more than 150 exhibitors are registered for the Texas International Produce Association-hosted event, and the onion industry is well represented with booths. Among those who’ll exhibit are Tex-Mex Sales, The Onion House, Young Guns, Wada Farms, Rio Produce, Onions 52 and Fox Packaging.
Activities and sessions kick off Thursday, April 30, with a special morning session recognizing Women in Produce, and the annual golf tourney will be held both the Oaks and Canyons courses adjacent to the JW Marriott. Tee-off is at 1 p.m.
In addition, the San Antonio Wholesale Produce Market tour will take place that day, with shuttles leaving at 1 p.m. The first phase of the San Antonio Wholesale Produce Market consists of two front building of 30 warehouse units each, out of a total of 180 warehouses units that will be built in at least three phases.
For more information about San Antonio Wholesale Produce Market, please log on to http://www.sawpm.com/en/.
Friday’s sessions start after breakfast and include a look at plant-based diets, with the first featuring speaker P.K. Newby, ScD, MPH, MS (“The Nutrition Doctor”). She brings 25 years’ research and experience to the topic, and her latest book is Food and Nutrition: What Everyone Needs to Know. She is also the author of Superfoods, Foods for Health: Choose and Use the Very Best Foods for Your Family and Our Planet.
A session entitled Seasonality: What is it? will follow, and the Keynote Luncheon will close out the morning. TV personality and physician Dr. Ian Smith has been working closely with a group of participants (see info at https://vivafreshexpo.com/clean-eating-challenge-blog/participants) ahead of the expo, and he will tell his audience of the final results during his keynote address. The participants will join him onstage to share the details of their experiences.
A portion of the afternoon will be devoted to “Specialty Product Mini-Immersion Sessions,” with 15-20 minute, mini-sessions to feature specialty products found to be steadily increasing in consumer popularity. Included in the sessions will be jackfruit, jicama, mangoes, papayas and guavas, and herbs. Receptions are on tap for the afternoon and evening.
Saturday’s schedule includes food demos and the grand opening ceremony for the Expo, which will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For a full schedule and registration information, visit Viva Fresh at https://vivafreshexpo.com/exhibitor-registration/.
