Chicago Int'l Tea Festival!
Donation protected
Coming in 2019...
The first ever Chicago International Tea Festival
We’ve got the dates confirmed, the venue booked, our founding committee is coming together, and we're starting a great program for you already.
Now, we just need a boost to get started!
Why a tea festival for Chicago?
A beloved event in places including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boulder and Kansas City – as well as major international cities – we believe the time has long come for Chicago to finally have its own annual tea festival.
A place for you to taste hundreds of teas from around the world, participate in workshops from leading educators, and meet the amazing people who work tirelessly behind the scenes for every single cup of tea you enjoy. Producers, merchants, educators. Industry and consumers. All in one beautiful setting with a stunning views of the Chicago River.
Our program includes:
· Main stage events/cultural presentations from international guests
· Hands-on, interactive workshops in small classroom setting
· Focused tasting sessions for unique, singular topic exploration
· Professional-level and newcomer accessible content
· Industry networking events for beverage professionals
What are we fundraising for?
While we have the venue booked and dates confirmed, we very much need assistance to start paying for deposits, plus a little runway to start crucial work on time. Our main income will come from booth sales and sponsorship. However, we first have to pay for the venue deposits or we don’t have a festival.
$6000 would cover these critical costs; anything beyond this helps us with payment of other venue necessities, such as equipment (it takes a LOT to brew all this tea!), assistance to speakers traveling to Chicago for the festival, and developing satellite pop-up events in support of the festival to increase visibility.
Who are we?
The Chicago International Tea Festival is being brought to you by Taste All The Teas (founded by Nicole Burriss ) the same producer of the Midwest Tea Festival (Kansas City, MO – Sept 8-9, 2018), now in its fourth year. In addition, our founding committee includes experienced industry leaders who are veterans of other regional tea festivals and international expos. Several of us being friends and colleagues for years, we are all thrilled to finally be coming together for a show in Chicago - which is home for some of us, too. We have no doubt that you’ll have an amazing time with us at the festival, but we need your help to make this happen!
When/where is the festival?
These are our confirmed dates and times, so mark your calendar now!
Nov 1, 2019, 7am-6pm *Industry-focus day. Limited public passes will be available.
Nov 2-3, 2019, 9am-4pm
Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza , River North
You can find out more about becoming a vendor, speaking opportunities, volunteering and attending at: citfest.com
Thank you so much for your support!
- Chicago International Tea Festival founding members
Nicole Burriss (founder)
Youlian Banov
Babette Donaldson
Suzette Hammond
Agnes Rapacz
Dan Robertson
The first ever Chicago International Tea Festival
We’ve got the dates confirmed, the venue booked, our founding committee is coming together, and we're starting a great program for you already.
Now, we just need a boost to get started!
Why a tea festival for Chicago?
A beloved event in places including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boulder and Kansas City – as well as major international cities – we believe the time has long come for Chicago to finally have its own annual tea festival.
A place for you to taste hundreds of teas from around the world, participate in workshops from leading educators, and meet the amazing people who work tirelessly behind the scenes for every single cup of tea you enjoy. Producers, merchants, educators. Industry and consumers. All in one beautiful setting with a stunning views of the Chicago River.
Our program includes:
· Main stage events/cultural presentations from international guests
· Hands-on, interactive workshops in small classroom setting
· Focused tasting sessions for unique, singular topic exploration
· Professional-level and newcomer accessible content
· Industry networking events for beverage professionals
What are we fundraising for?
While we have the venue booked and dates confirmed, we very much need assistance to start paying for deposits, plus a little runway to start crucial work on time. Our main income will come from booth sales and sponsorship. However, we first have to pay for the venue deposits or we don’t have a festival.
$6000 would cover these critical costs; anything beyond this helps us with payment of other venue necessities, such as equipment (it takes a LOT to brew all this tea!), assistance to speakers traveling to Chicago for the festival, and developing satellite pop-up events in support of the festival to increase visibility.
Who are we?
The Chicago International Tea Festival is being brought to you by Taste All The Teas (founded by Nicole Burriss ) the same producer of the Midwest Tea Festival (Kansas City, MO – Sept 8-9, 2018), now in its fourth year. In addition, our founding committee includes experienced industry leaders who are veterans of other regional tea festivals and international expos. Several of us being friends and colleagues for years, we are all thrilled to finally be coming together for a show in Chicago - which is home for some of us, too. We have no doubt that you’ll have an amazing time with us at the festival, but we need your help to make this happen!
When/where is the festival?
These are our confirmed dates and times, so mark your calendar now!
Nov 1, 2019, 7am-6pm *Industry-focus day. Limited public passes will be available.
Nov 2-3, 2019, 9am-4pm
Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza , River North
You can find out more about becoming a vendor, speaking opportunities, volunteering and attending at: citfest.com
Thank you so much for your support!
- Chicago International Tea Festival founding members
Nicole Burriss (founder)
Youlian Banov
Babette Donaldson
Suzette Hammond
Agnes Rapacz
Dan Robertson
Fundraising team (2)
Nicole Burriss
Organizer
Kansas City, MO
Suzette Hammond
Team member
