6 Reasons to Attend LABash 2023 at Kansas State University

01. The Lineup of Events

24 education sessions
6 spark talks
4 keynotes
+ a watercolor workshop
   a sketch crawl
   a field visit to the Konza Prairie 

With a focus on trailblazing topics, this year’s LABash Conference has an impressive lineup of speakers with several special events that you won’t want to miss. A guided tour of the Konza Prairie Biological Station will give a behind the scenes look at prairie conservation and management within the Flint Hills tallgrass preserve. A watercolor workshop led by K-State Assistant Professor Otto Chankyakorn will inspire attendees to apply themselves in new ways and learn techniques for watercolor painting. Featuring topics in public engagement, digital tools, landscape performance, climate action, and many others, the LABash 2023 schedule provides something for everyone!

02. Four Trailblazing Keynotes

We’ve invited four keynotes to speak at this year’s LABash Conference: Kene Okigbo of RDG Planning & Design, Nina Chase of Merritt Chase, Matt Williams of the City of Detroit, and Michael Grove of Sasaki. From advocacy and outreach to making an impact as a young professional, these trailblazers demonstrate the power of landscape architecture to influence change on a variety of scales. Listening to these trailblazers who have inspired new directions in the field of landscape architecture will leave conference attendees inspired to expand their impact and the impact of landscape architecture on the world around us. 

Photography by: Tim Hursley

03. Manhappiness 

Oh Manhattan! We’re excited to welcome you to our little piece of Manhappiness. We may be in the middle of nowhere Kansas, but our small-town charm will have you feeling right at home. Explore shops and local boutiques downtown or hit the bars and restaurants in Aggieville. Take a walk around the Kansas State campus to see campus gems like the K-State Meadow, a learning landscape and living laboratory of native plants to the Kansas region or the historic Great Room in Hale Library also widely known as the Harry Potter Room. Have a sweet tooth? Make sure to visit Manhattan top picks: Call Hall for “farm to spoon” ice cream or the Varsity Truck for a late night fix. 

You’re sure to enjoy your time in the Little Apple!

A note:
Though the Manhattan Airport will be closed March 29th and 30th, LABash is offering a charter bus for conference attendees flying into the Kansas City Airport (MCI). The shuttle will depart MCI at 2:00 pm CST on Wednesday, March 29th, arriving in Manhattan just in time for our opening ceremony. The shuttle will depart Manhattan at 8:00 am on Saturday, April 1. This is a great opportunity to meet and interact with fellow conference attendees. Also, consider arriving a day earlier to avoid airport closures and enjoy Manhattan a little longer!

Purchase your tickets to reserve your spot on the shuttle while registering or add a shuttle ticket after registration through the links included on our page: www.labash.org/register. A pre-purchased ticket is required to ride on the LABash shuttle. 

For more information on getting to Manhattan, please visit https://www.labash.org/getting-here 

04. The Flint Hills–home to the largest expanse of tallgrass prairie

Sign up for a guided tour of the Konza Prairie, a native tallgrass preserve and living laboratory within the Flint Hills. The tour will take you through the Konza Biological Station, a private research area jointly owned by the Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University. This experience is an opportunity to learn about prairie management practices such as grazing and controlled burns. Get up close to over 500 plant species and a variety of animals that roam the Konza, including bison and the greater prairie-chicken.

Purchase your tickets while registering or add a ticket through the link on our page: www.labash.org/register. 

05. The BASH in LABash

You can’t host the LABash Conference without a BASH or two! Aggieville, Manhattan’s bar and entertainment district, is home to the local bars and eateries that K-State students know and love. Join us in the ‘Ville on the evenings of March 29th and 30th to experience Aggieville and have a drink on us!

New to LABash this year is… LABash Formal! Dress to the nines for the closing ceremony and last BASH of the 2023 conference. Get your picture snapped with the landscape architecture stars as you walk the Green Carpet – you’ll want to look sharp!

Semi-formal or cocktail attire is suggested. 

06. The Energy

Surround yourself with a community of like-minded people who relate to your obsession with plants, dedication to studio and desire to change the world for the better. LABash brings together hundreds of landscape architecture students from across the nation providing a unique opportunity to make new friends. We speak from experience when we say, you might just meet some of your closest friends!

It’s hard to explain the unique energy the LABash Conference emanates, but it is sure to fuel your passion for landscape architecture. Don’t believe us? Be in attendance at this year’s conference to feel the energy and excitement from the future landscape architects who are bound to blaze new trails in the profession.

Visit www.labash.org to learn more!

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Lead Image: Visit Manhattan