Mayor Annette Main is providing 10 passes at cost to local Whanganui people but with many worthy people to choose from, I'm glad I'm not in her shoes.
But if you miss out on one of those passes, check out the free events being held in association with the conference.
Kim Hill will be hosting her Saturday morning Radio New Zealand show live from the Opera House on Saturday, November 15 from 8am-12pm.
Sunday night will be Dame Anne Salmond's fourth and final national Royal Society of New Zealand Rutherford Lecture - again at the Opera House - with the theme of Give me the water of life. Whanganui River Maori Trust Board's Gerrard Albert and Emeritus Professor Margaret Tennant will open the evening from 5pm. Then on the Monday night at 6.30pm at the War Memorial Centre, we have a local government debate on Small Is Beautiful - the pros and cons of living in a small place.
For me, the conference pulls together all the things I'm deeply passionate about - healthy, strong regional New Zealand, social entrepreneurs and sustainable business, reconnecting to nature and the fundamental, yet apparently controversial, clean water. It will be all about people making a positive difference and I expect to have my socks blown off.
And I know Whanganui will impress our out-of-town visitors. Starting up the river at Jerusalem, I am sure the spirit of the river will weave its way into their hearts.
It's great to see the Nui Pride initiative nearing 500 likes on Facebook in its first weeks - I will be tracking down one next week to compete with the Taranaki Hardcore brand.
But back on the sleep-ins - my boys do occasionally sleep past 7am and, psychologically, it makes a massive difference to me.
I stumbled across a hilarious rework of the intro to the opera Carmina Burana. Matthew Hodge, 2013 competition winner, rewrote lyrics to the powerful piece entitling it Ode to Sleep Deprived Parents and Terrorizing Toddlers.
Earnestly performed by Sydney choirs, it included the phrases "Why won't you sleep?/Is it your teeth?" and "Put my phone down/Where are your pants?" - unfortunately, all too common in my house. A must-view for parents of young ones - search YouTube for the video.
And while I don't want to wish away any stage of childhood, tantrums and toilet training nightmares are damn draining.
So taking a leaf out of Richard Louv's book - my best technique for dealing with the tough times in our house is to walk the boys down to the river. Watching them stalk imaginary sharks or climb driftwood mountains is literally a breath of fresh air.
Getting outside really does help - the bickering and demanding for attention dissipates and they simply play. The green prescription works.
Nicola Young is a former Department of Conservation manager who now works for global consultancy AECOM. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.
