For the second consecutive year, the Conference on the Front Porch will be returning to the Mill at Plein Air in Taylor this fall.

The conference, which focuses on the importance of the front porch in the American South, has been set for October 18 and 19.

This year will feature an array of speakers discussing topics like food and the front porch, music and literature. The keynote lecturer is John T. Edge, the founder and director of the Southern Foodways Alliance.

Other speakers include Curtis Wilkie, artist Bill Dunlap and Ole Miss English professor Jay Watson.

Alongside the panels will be an “evening porch play” on the 18th. The second night will have a field dinner featuring the singer-songwriter Tricia Walker.

“Last year we delved deep into the history of the front porch, why it disappeared, what brought it back and things like that,” said Plein Air founder Campbell McCool in a press release. “It was a serious porch nerds discussion. Our audience loved it…The front porch is so much more than a thing; it is representative of a way of life.”

The conference is open to “architects, cultural historians, sociologists, developers and lovers of all things front porch.”

The cost per ticket is $275 and attendance will be limited to 200 people. To register or for more information, contact 662-234-3151 or visit www.theconferenceonthefrontporch.com.