Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17

 

The 19th annual Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. The Lavender Festival is a perennial crowd favorite, full of tradition, fun, and always something new, a press release said. The festival celebrates all things herbal, crafts, local foods, and more.

Admission to the festival is free, with plenty of free parking available in surrounding city and business lots, and on side streets, the press release said.

As is tradition, a bagpipe player will open the festival at 8 a.m., playing from upper Blankenship Field into Jackson Square. Also keeping with tradition, Alan McBride will follow with the hammered dulcimer in the bandstand. A complete music schedule is found below.

Also returning for a second year is “A Taste of Tennessee Wines,” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., benefitting the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. The tasting is hosted by Great Valley Wine Trail, which is made up of four independent wineries in East Tennessee. Your $10 tasting ticket is available at the gate (for those who are 21 with a valid identification). Tasters receive a complimentary wine glass, and if they purchase wine, a six-compartment wine tote. Customers are allowed to enjoy the wine outdoors in the Square during festival hours, with lunch served all day by plenty of food vendors and food trucks, restaurants, and even hors d’oeuvres by Chapel on the Hill.

The Lavender Festival also features more than 100 artisan vendors, herb and floral vendors, herbal tasting, Herb of the Year information, and children’s activities, the press release said. Vendors will line the covered walkways of Jackson Square, the parking lot, and both sides of Broadway Avenue, which will be closed to traffic.

“You’ll want to visit longtime favorite booths like Jericho Farms, Rainwater Farm, Wingshuck, Sunlight Gardens, Honey Rock Herb Farm, Erin’s Meadow Herb Farm, Harmonic Journeys, Daylillies, Stoney Clay Station, and Jeri Landers,” the press release said. “This year brings many new vendors you won’t want to miss like Down the Rabbit Hole by Donna Roach, Signs of the Water Jewelry by Marcia Napier, Midfield Lavender Farm, and Tomboy Organic Skincare, just to name a few.”

For a complete vendor list, visit www.JacksonSquareLavenderFestival.org.

Returning this year for children are Bob Grimac’s Art Spot, Danny Whitson, street performer, sand art by Hip ‘n Happening, a bicycle powered merry-go-round by Dan Arp, planting activities by Becky Coleman, and other activities by the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge and Children’s International Summer Village.

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market is open as usual across from the Square from 8 a.m.-noon.

“Bring your cooler so you can shop for the freshest local produce, grass-fed meat, eggs, cheese, and bakery items, and still stay for the festival!” the press release said.

The Lavender Festival also features an Herb Luncheon on Friday, June 16, at noon. Tickets are $25 and on sale at The Ferrell Shop. The luncheon speaker is James R. “Rick” Riddle, president of the Appalachian Region Wine Producers Association. He’ll be speaking on “Tennessee’s Grape Expectations,” and the burgeoning wine industry in the state, the press release said.

The “Herb of the Year,” a designation by the International Herb Society, is Coriandrum sativum. This includes both cilantro and coriander. Cilantro is the leaves on the plant, while coriander is the seeds of the same plant.

The major sponsors of this year’s festival are the Alexander Guest House Assisted Living Facility. Other sponsors are TN Bank of Oak Ridge, Doubletree by Hilton, Citizens First Bank, Trans Tech, Midway Tire, Cowperwood Company, and East Tennessee FARM Markets. Lavender Festival is very grateful for the support of these generous sponsors, the press release said.

For a complete list of vendors and more information about the Lavender Festival, please visit www.JacksonSquareLavenderFestival.org, and www.JacksonSquareOakRidge.org.

The music schedule is as follows:

• 8 a.m.—Andrew Payzant, bagpipe
• 8:15 a.m.—Allen McBride, hammered dulcimer
• 8:45 a.m.—Lisa Dunn, Celtic Harp
• 9:15 a.m.—Good Ole Music, Mountain Music, Liza Jane Alexander, and Curly Cottrell
• 10 a.m.—Liz & Tim, Appalachian Music
• 11 a.m.—Mighty House Band
• 12 p.m.—AM Station Band, Classic Rock and Roll
• 1 p.m.—Early Bird Special, Classic folk, rock oldies, a little bit of bluegrass
• 2 p.m.—Jubal, Taylor Kress & Bonnie Simmons, Americana-folk

More information will be added as it becomes available.

 

 

Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2017 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.