Slow Fish 2024: Charleston at – Charleston, SC

Don’t miss this upcoming Event in Charleston, SC. Happening on Friday, November 1, 2024 at Charleston. Doors open at 12:00 PM.

WELCOME!
It’s been 6 years since we gathered in San Francisco, and we’re thrilled to bring us together for a meaningful and galvanizing 3 days this November 1-3, 2024! We can’t wait to gather with our Slow Fish community on the beautiful College of Charleston campus and surrounding area to share stories, learn from experts, advocate for smart stakeholder policy, and catalyze our movement for the future of good, clean and fair seafood! Join us!

Slow Fish 2024 is a collaborative gathering of seafood harvesters, fishmongers, chefs, educators, researchers and advocates working to create more direct supply chains based on Slow Fish values of providing good, clean and fair seafood to their communities. The event is a co-production of Slow Fish North America, Slow Food USA and our host community, Slow Food Charleston.

Crew Together: Catch the Rising Tide!

This year’s theme is Crew Together: Catch the Rising Tide! “Crew Together” was the all-hands-on-deck theme for the Slow Fish 2020 event that Covid took away. However, in true Slow Fish fashion, we rallied together and spun our efforts into an energizing, community-building series of webinars. From there, we hosted the soul-nourishing Slow Fish 2021 Virtual Gathering and built a strong community engagement platform with the Rising Tide program, aimed at bringing more folks into the conversation about seafood with values. 

Looking ahead to Slow Fish 2024 and beyond, we want to reignite that spark of energy, creativity and motivation that underscores every in-person event by crewing together and catching the rising tide!

Slow Fish Rising Tide Chefs Camp in New Orleans, Nov. 2023 (photo: Kevell Byrd)

MISSION
We’ll convene in Charleston to bring the Slow Fish community together with Slow Food leaders to accomplish these goals: 

grow the Slow Fish North America network; 
build more community around Slow Fish values; 
create a roadmap for Slow Fish engagement and advocacy going forward; and, 
celebrate the joy of local, responsibly harvested seafood!

PROGRAM
Friday
The conference will start with an inspiring gathering at the beautiful Sottile Theater Friday afternoon. After checking in to the event (and with each other!), we’ll kick off the weekend with an overview of where Slow Fish has been, what we’ve achieved, and where we’re headed. We’ll then hear from five Key Chord storytellers from the network about their efforts to uplift community-based seafood with Slow Fish values:

Captain Charlie Abner-Fisherman operating out of Ga., S.C. and Fla.;
Kerry Marhefka-co-owner of Abundant Seafood, marine biologist, member of multiple fisheries organizations;
Captain Kindra Arnesen-Fisherwoman out of Louisiana, member of multiple fisheries organizations;
Buck Jones-Cayuse, Salmon Marketing specialist with Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission; and,
Chef Dana Honn-Co-owner and chef of Carmo restaurant in New Orleans.

We round out Friday with an exploration of Charleston’s sustainable seafood scene with recommendations for dinner at restaurants featured in Slow Food Charleston’s Slow Fish guide!

Saturday
We begin the day with a light breakfast on the College of Charleston campus as we weave through sessions all day across a broad range of topics including reimagining local seafood supply chains; aquaculture with values; climate change impacts on seasonality, availability and production; fair access to ocean resources; shifting policies; and community engagement in educational discussions around seafood with values. Again, we’ll explore the fabulous tableau of Charleston’s food scene for dinner.

Sunday
The conference will move to beautiful Bowens Island with morning sessions that will synthesize the conversations begun on Saturday, and identify calls to action: Where do we take Slow Fish from here? How do we get there … crewing together? In the afternoon, we will invite the Slow Food Charleston community to join us as we celebrate Slow Fish and 20 years of Slow Food Charleston, our collective future, and the bounty of seafood from the region and beyond.

We’ll share a more complete agenda in September.

World Cafe sessions at Slow Fish San Francisco 2018 (photo: Eric Buchanan)

LOGISTICS

Tickets:

Early Bird (Until Sept. 7): $150
General Admission *Sept. 8 through Nov. 1): $200

Getting there:

Charleston International Airport is convenient and easy for those flying in. There are is also Amtrak and bus service.

Lodging:

We have reserved room blocks at the Marriott and Hyatt Place. 
We also encourage folks to group together to book AirBnB stays via Stay Duvet, which is offering both a 5% discount on rentals and a commission to Slow Fish on all sales. (More details in a followup email.)

Scholarship:

We want to set a big table. We will do everything we can to help folks join us for this important gathering based on available funding. Please fill out this scholarship application. 

SEE YOU IN CHARLESTON!!!

Boucherie, Slow Fish 2016: NOLA (photo: Eric Buchanan)

Purchase Slow Fish 2024: Charleston Tickets Below:

Tickets/RSVP URL