What is the Slow Flowers Summit?
Called a "TED Talk for Flower Lovers," the SUMMIT is a conference and lecture series for creative professionals, thought leaders and pioneering voices in the progressive community that supports local, seasonal, and sustainable flowers.
Designed to stimulate curiosity, examine conventional assumptions and explore conscious and ethical practices in the floral industry, the Summit agenda asks speakers and audience members alike to inquire, inform, include, instigate and inspire.
The 2025 Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit is scheduled for January 9-11, 2025. Program and Speakers will be announced on October 1, 2024. Early Bird Registration will open October 15, 2024.
In 2017, Debra Prinzing hosted the inaugural Slow Flowers SUMMIT in Seattle, Washington, as a new "live" component to support and promote the American Flowers Week campaign (June 28-July 4).
On June 29, 2018, the Slow Flowers SUMMIT co-located with the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) Symposium in Washington, D.C.
On July 1 & 2, 2019, the Slow Flowers SUMMIT was held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Our co-host was the Twin Cities Flower Exchange.
In 2020 the Slow Flowers SUMMIT was postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 Slow Flowers SUMMIT was held over 2 days at Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside, California.
In 2022, the SUMMIT took place on June 26-28 at The Red Barn on Maple Grove Farm in New Bedford, New York; and at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York;
In 2023, the SUMMIT returned to the Pacific Northwest for 2 days at Bellevue Botanical Garden June 26-27, 2023 with an Open House and closing reception the afternoon of June 27 at Seattle Wholesale Growers Market and Mayesh Wholesale Florist.
In 2024, the Slow Flowers Summit gathered at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada, June 23-25, 2024. It was our first International venue, welcoming guests from across North America and Australia. Read more here.
Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for domestic flowers. Through her many Slow Flowers-branded projects, she has convened a national conversation that stimulates consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases.
Debra is the producer of SlowFlowers.com, the online directory of American and Canadian farms, florists, shops and studios who supply domestic and local flowers. Each Wednesday, approximately 2,500 listeners tune into Debra's "Slow Flowers Podcast," available for free downloads at debraprinzing.com, iTunes and via other podcast services.
She is the creator of American Flowers Week, launched during the July 4th week in 2015 with more than 5.0 million social media impressions in 2017.
Debra is a 2019 inductee to PFCI (Professional Floral Communicators International) and the 2018 recipient of the American Horticultural Society's "Great American Gardeners"' Frances Jones Poetker Award, which recognizes significant contributions to floral design in publications, on the platform, and to the public.
In 2016, the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farm-to-florist cooperative, honored Debra with the first Growers Choice Award for her "outstanding contributions to revitalizing the local floral community." She is a 2016 inductee to GardenComm Hall of Fame and is the author of 10 books, including Slow Flowers and The 50 Mile Bouquet. In 2020, Wildflower Media will publish her newest book, Slow Flowers Journal, Volume One. In 2021, she formed BLOOM Imprint with Robin Avni, a boutique book publishing company which produces titles by and about Slow Flowers members and practitioners.