Are you a food blogger or an aspiring food blogger who wants to know and learn more about food, photography and writing? Eat,Write, Retreat is the event for you! On the first weekend of June, the Sonesta Hotel will host a slew of bloggers for a weekend full of workshops, panels, sessions and events. It is an all inclusive weekend with planned dining events, networking and even some breaks for visiting with other bloggers.

I will be attending for the first time and even though I do not know the whole experience, I know I really wanted to be at the even last year, but with a new baby, it was not quite possible. This year, I am excited to see what all I gain from my experience, especially since writing and creating on my website has been a little more exciting and demanding. I’m especially interested in attending the session called “Pitch to the Pros” which is a one-on-one face time with sponsors that align with my website.

Want to take a peek into the retreat schedule? The schedule could change but this is roughly what it looks like now:

Friday, June 6, 2014

12:00 – On-site registration opens

5:00 – Sponsor Meet & Greet

6:30 – Welcome Dinner

8:30 – Carve Out Time for Mocktails and Networking with Cutco

Saturday, June 7, 2014

6:30 – Breakfast Featuring Safest Choice Eggs and Jarlsberg Cheese

8:30 – Story and Recipe: Serving Two Masters

10:00 – Social Media Spotlight

11:00 – Myths & Trends: What’s Next in Nutrition

1:00 – The Great Mushroom Swap and Lunch!

7:00 – Dinner in Philadelphia

Sunday, June 8, 2014

6:30 – Breakfast: What Does Your Farro Say About You?

8:30 – Lights! Camera! Watermelon! Media Training Workshop

10:00 – Social Media Spotlight

11:00 – The State of Blogging with OXO

12:00 – Learning Lunch and Business Incubator

2:30 – Pitch to the Pros

2:30 – Head Shots by Dottie Foley

Check out our Panels page for full descriptions of this year’s programming.

Check out the Sponsors page for a full list of the brands and representatives that will be at the conference. If you’d like to see more details for the sessions and workshops listed above, please check out the PANELS page.

There is already an update actively awaiting those who have either registered or those who register BY April 30th. As updated by the site,

The National Watermelon Promotion Board has created a special offer for all Eat Write Retreat attendees who register by April 30, 2014. Develop a watermelon recipe that can be re-created on camera during our media training session, and you could win a prize pack from Calphalon (valued at over $500)! What’s more, if you’ve got the right stuff, you could be selected to star in our media training workshop. (There is no requirement to participate in the live training at Eat Write Retreat to enter to win the Calphalon prize pack with your watermelon post.)

How to Enter:

1. First, register to attend Eat Write Retreat by April 30, 2014.
2. Create and publish a blog post featuring an original watermelon recipe by May 19, 2014.
3. Include watermelon links in your post: watermelon.org,facebook.com/watermelon.org and http://www.twitter.com/All4Watermelon.
4. Submit the link to your post here.
5. You’ll also be able to choose whether you’d like to be considered for the live demos, or simply be entered to win our random drawing for a Calphalon Contemporary Cookware set.

We’re looking for recipes that are straightforward with minimal ingredients and/or dishes that showcase a helpful technique for working with watermelon. Think you’ve got a star recipe? Be sure to post your recipe by May 19 and submit your link online by May 19 to enter to win!

Guidelines

To enter the contest, you must be registered for Eat Write Retreat by April 30, 2014. Additionally, you must create a recipe using watermelon that can be assembled in a 2-3 minute video segment and post it to your blog by May 19, 2014 and submit your link online by May 19, 2014 to be entered to win the prize pack. Blog post must also include a link to watermelon.org as well as The National Watermelon Promotion Board’s social media channels, Facebook – facebook.com/watermelon.org and Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/All4Watermelon

Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, and how well the recipe translates to a 2-3 minute video segment. Winners of prize pack from Calphalon will be selected randomly from all eligible entries. There is no requirement to participate in the live training at Eat Write Retreat to enter to win the Calphalon prize pack with your watermelon post.

The winners will be announced at the 2014 Eat Write Retreat Conference.

______________________________________________

Intimidated by the price of the retreat? Well, there is an option to pay over 6 months through PayPal so don’t let the price prevent you from attending.

Check out Jennifer’s post on her experience last

year: http://www.recipe4random.com/eat-write-retreat/

Heather’s post from Real: The Kitchen and Beyond:
http://www.realthekitchenandbeyond.com/wrapping-up-eat-write-retreat/

Check out the twitter thread from last year to get a sense of all the excitement using #EWR13

Here is a quote from a couple of my blogger friends who attended last year:

“EWR offered useful tools and information to make me a more effective food blogger. I learned so much from my first EWR conference I honestly can’t wait to go back.”

Linda from Giggles, Gulps, and Gobbles

Disclosure: I’m sponsored by Eat Write Retreat and will be attending in June.