Hardwick, VT, Apr 04, 2011 — Tonight and tomorrow, community leaders from around the region gather for the 9th Annual North Country Symposium. They'll try to learn lessons from a hardscrabble town in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

About ten years ago, people in Hardwick started opening businesses related to local agriculture. Today, there are community-supported restaurants, a tofu maker, a seed company, fruit, vegetable, and meat growers, a food coop, and a not-for-profit composting agency. Hardwick's been featured on national TV, in the New York Times, and many other newspapers.

Author Ben Hewitt wrote about the Hardwick revival in his book, The Town That Food Saved. He's the keynote speaker at the Symposium.

Hewitt told David Sommerstein part of Hardwick's success is owned to a spirit of collaboration and a diversified entrepreneurial economy.