Conference Information

We have gathered much conference general information on this page to help you find the information you need so understand the conference. Don’t hesitate to contact the NCHE office if you cannot find the information you are looking for.

Location

Twin City Quarter (Benton Convention Center, Embassy Suites and Marriott), 301 W 5th St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101—The Benton Conference Center is located in downtown Winston-Salem.

View Map in Google Maps 

Admissions Information

Full Conference Registration—This entitles you to attend the vendor hall, all conference and vendor workshops and keynote sessions, teen and alum activities, and the gatherings.

Vendor Hall Only Registration—This includes admission to the vendor hall, vendor workshops and the gatherings.

Wristbands and Nametags—Attendees registered for the full conference will wear green wristbands. Attendees registered for the vendor hall only will wear yellow wristbands. Speakers, NCHE officers and the conference team will wear green name tags. Vendors wear yellow name tags.

Tickets for Individual Events—If you are not registered for the full conference and would like to attend a workshop session, keynote, and teen and alumni activities, you can buy a ticket for $10 each to attend these. Purchase tickets at the registration table and then give them to a door monitor.

Conference Happenings

All Three Days

Conference Workshops—Conference workshops are given by speakers who have been invited to participate in our conference. The topics are usually inspirational or instructional about homeschooling and family. Those with full conference registration or a $10 ticket (per workshop) may attend.

Vendor Workshops—A vendor workshop is given by one of our vendors and usually explains their product but can also cover a variety of subjects. Anyone registered for vendor hall only or full conference may attend.

Keynotes—There are 2 keynotes, Friday 9:00 a.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. in Salem Ballroom. A keynote session begins with a 30 minute period of general business before the keynote address by one of our featured speakers. Those with full conference registration or a $10 ticket (per keynote) may attend.

Mentoring—Experienced homeschoolers will be waiting to answer your homeschooling questions. The mentor table will be just outside the vendor hall by the main doors. The mentor table hours are 3:00-6:00 p.m. on Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-6:15 p.m. on Friday, and 10:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m. on Saturday.

Thursday

Chess Tournament—The K-12 chess tournament is on Thursday from 1:30-5:30 p.m. in the Gallery in Benton South. Preregistration is required.

Leaders’ Dinner and Workshop—NCHE hosts a special dinner just for our homeschool leaders on Thursday 6:00 p.m. in the Gaines Ballroom. Preregistration for the dinner is required. Registration for the dinner does not include conference registration. A leaders’ workshop is from 4:40-5:40 p.m. This workshop is open to all. 

Teen and Alumni Cotillion-Style Dance—With an emphasis on instruction, NCHE offers this dance for our teens and alumni on Thursday 7:30 p.m. Admission requires conference registration or a $10 ticket. The dance will be in the Gallery in Benton South. 

Regional Gatherings—A time to meet others from your NCHE region will be Thursday evening at 7:45. Find your region in the map and room for your regional meeting in the printed program and plan to attend the meeting for your region. Here is the link for the regional map https://nche.com/community/regions/.

Vendor Hall Drawing—There will be a Win Two Drawing on Thursday evening at 7:30.
Win Two Drawing gives free conference admission for 2026 (reimbursed) and 2027. (Must be present to win.)

Friday

College & Trades Fair—Students have the opportunity to meet and talk with college and trades representators. The fair will be 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Friday and Piedmont 1, next to the vendor hall.

Teen and Alumni Games Social—A games social will be Friday night 7:30-9:30 p.m. NCHE will provide cards, board games and group games. Admission requires conference registration or a $10 ticket.

Featured Speaker Panel—Last year was our first year to do this panel, and it was great! Our featured speakers will join us to answer your questions.

Saturday

Special Gatherings—These gatherings, on Saturday morning at 8:15 a.m., are opportunities to gather with others who are in the same special circumstance. The special gatherings this year are: Military, special needs, single parents, new homeschoolers, parents of preschoolers, dads, and multi-cultural homeschoolers. The printed program will list which room for each gathering. Just drop in and meet others!

Vendor Hall Drawings—There will be 2 drawings on Saturday afternoon.
Signature Card Drawing for $250 in cash, Saturday 1:45 p.m.
Win Two Drawing—Free Conference Admission for 2026 (reimbursed) and 2027, Saturday 3:15 p.m. (Must be present to win.)

Graduation—NCHE hosts a state-wide homeschool high school graduation ceremony on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (admission not until 4:45 p.m.) in the Winston and Salem Ballrooms. All are invited to attend.

Conference Recordings Information

Audio recordings—Audio recordings of conference workshops and keynotes will be reproduced in 2 ways: CDs and MP3s. The order forms may be found at registration or at the recording table located in the Winston Foyer.

Purchasing CDs—Recordings in CD format are available for sale only at the conference and must be picked up by the end of the conference. A complete set of all recordings on CDs may be purchased at the conference at a reduced price and will be shipped. NCHE will not ship or mail individual CDs. CDs are $7 each.

Purchasing MP3s—Recordings in MP3 format will be available for a special price of $5 at the conference, and through May 29 online ($6 afterwards). These may be ordered online at the NCHE website as soon as they are available, Monday evening or Tuesday. A complete set of all recordings can be purchased on a flash drive at a reduced price and shipped. Conference discounts are available.

Miscellaneous

Volunteering—Please consider being one of our very important volunteers! If you are willing to help out, see more information on the volunteer page.

Workshop Handouts—Some of the speakers prepare a handout (with notes about their talks). These can be found online in May.

Nursing Mothers Room—We have set aside the Shober Boardroom (across from Gaines in Benton South) for the convenience of nursing mothers.

Conference Help Table—If you have questions about the conference, drop by the conference help table at the entrance of the Benton.

Lost and Found—Lost and Found is located at the registration table and at the NCHE table in the vendor hall, booth 1.

Interpreting Services—NCHE will provide interpreting services if we know far enough in advance to contract for these. The deadline that allows this time is April 25. Please email Debbie Mason, events@nche.com, with a list of workshops that you desire interpreting for by this deadline.

Hotel Reservations for Marriott and Embassy Suites—These reservations can be made beginning October 1 of each year at 9:00 a.m. Note that the dates for the 2026 conference is May 21-23.