Lavender Festival (Image Credit: Shawn Millsaps)
The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday will celebrate health, herbs, crafts, local foods—and lavender. There will also be music, children’s activities, and a wine tasting. It’s the 20th year of the festival, which is the only Lavender Festival in Tennessee.
“The Lavender Festival is a perennial crowd favorite, full of tradition, fun, and always something new,” a press release said.
The 20th annual Lavender Festival is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 16, in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge.
The festival, which attracted about 8,000 people last year, is always free, with plenty of free parking available in surrounding city and business lots, and on side streets.
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.
Informative presentations will be held in the lobby of Pinnacle Financial Partners, and they will include Thyroid Health & Tips for Optimal Brain function (10 a.m.), Home-Crafted Lavender Products (11:30 a.m.), and Turning Back the Bones of Time (1 p.m.).
Also returning for its third 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 several food trucks, caterers, and restaurants, the press release said.
The Lavender Festival also features more than 140 artisan vendors, herb and floral vendors, herbal tasting, Herb of the Year information, and children’s activities. 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 the longtime favorite booths like Jericho Farms, Rainwater Farm, Wingshuck, Sunlight Gardens, Honey Rock Herb Farm, Erin’s Meadow Herb Farm, Harmonic Journeys, Daylillies Stony Clay Station, and Jeri Landers, the press release said. This year brings many new vendors like Silk Gypsy, Leaded Rose, Warm Glass, Lavender’s In It, and Brick Oven Pizza Bus just to name a few, the release said. For a complete vendor list, visit www.JacksonSquareLavenderFestival.org.
Returning this year for children and the young at heart are the ART SPOT, Danny Whitson, street performer, face painting, a bicycle powered merry-go-round, and planting activities. The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will feature Healthy Living for kids. There will be goats and other rabbits for petting, as well as a rice table for little ones.
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 15, at noon. Tickets are $25 and on sale at The Ferrell Shop. The speaker is Kathy Burke Mihalczo, owner of Erin’s Meadow Herb Farm. She will be speaking on “Twenty Years of Lavender Stories from Farm and Festival.” She is an excellent speaker, and “we know you will enjoy her!” the press release said. Seating is extremely limited, so get your tickets today.
The “Herb of the Year,” a designation by the International Herb Society, is Hops, Humulus ssp, touted as a digestive aid, stress reducer, skin softener, as well as an ingredient in many beers. This year those 21 and over with a valid identification may purchase beer and cider from Crafter’s Brew Beer Van.
2017 Lavender Festival (Photo courtesy Lavender Festival)
The major sponsors of this year’s festival are the Cowperwood Company and the 2018 Lavender Buds. Festival sponsors are Midway Tire, Trans Tech, TN Bank of Oak Ridge, and East TN FARM Markets. Activity sponsors are StrataG, UCOR, Doubletree by Hilton, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Methodist Medical Center, and Citizens First Bank.
For a complete list of vendors, Lavender Buds, and more information about the Lavender Festival, please visit www.JacksonSquareLavenderFestival.org.
The music schedule is as follows:
- 8 a.m.—Andrew Payzant, bagpipe
- 8:10 a.m.—Allen McBride, hammered dulcimer
- 9 a.m.—Liz & Tim, Appalachian Music
- 10 a.m.—The LoneTones Trio
- 11 a.m.—The Leftovers
- 12 p.m.—Early Bird Special
- 1 p.m.—Jubal
- 2 p.m.—The Missing Goats
More information will be added as it becomes available.
2017 Lavender Festival (Photo courtesy Lavender Festival)
Lavender Festival (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)
Lavender Festival (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)
Lavender Festival (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)
2017 Lavender Festival (Photo courtesy Lavender Festival)
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