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Lavender Festival postponed to next year

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2017 Lavender Festival (Image Credit: Shawn Millsaps)

The Lavender Festival, one of Oak Ridge’s most popular festivals, has been postponed to 2021 as the city, state, and country try to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“After consulting with Oak Ridge city officials, and in light of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, we regret to announce that Lavender Festival 2020 will be postponed until June 19, 2021,” said Barbara Ferrell, a Jackson Square business owner and Lavender Festival Committee member. “We agree with city officials that Lavender Festival’s crowd and limited area make it an unsafe event as the COVID-19 virus continues to circulate in our community.

[Read more…]

Lavender Festival features herbs, crafts, food, music Saturday

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2017 Lavender Festival (Image Credit: Shawn Millsaps)

Tennessee’s only Lavender Festival returns for its 21st year in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 15. The festival is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Celebrating all things herbal, crafts, local foods, and more, the Lavender Festival is free to customers, and last year attracted an estimated crowd of 11,000,” a press release said. “In addition to free admission, Lavender Festival also offers plenty of free parking in city and business lots surrounding Jackson Square.”

The festival is full of tradition and fun, and it always features something new, the press release said. For example, a traditional 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, the release said. A complete music schedule is included below.

The highlight of Lavender Festival will be the group of 150 artisan, herb, and floral vendors that will line the covered walkways of Jackson Square, the parking lot, and both sides of Broadway Avenue, which will be closed to traffic.

[Read more…]

Photos: Lavender Festival 2018

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The Lavender Festival is pictured above in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 16, 2018. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

The Lavender Festival is pictured above in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 16, 2018. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Here are photos by Julio Culiat of the Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday. [Read more…]

Lavender Festival is Saturday in Jackson Square

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Image Credit: Shawn Millsaps

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. [Read more…]

Series of festivals starts this week

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The second annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival is this week with three days of events celebrating the best in Tennessee wines in Oak Ridge and West Knoxville. The festival is scheduled from Thursday, May 17, to Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Submitted photo)

The second annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival is this week with three days of events celebrating the best in Tennessee wines in Oak Ridge and West Knoxville. The festival is scheduled from Thursday, May 17, to Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Submitted photo)

 

A series of festivals in Oak Ridge starts tonight (Friday, May 18).

The first festival is the second annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival. It features three days of events celebrating the best in Tennessee wines in Oak Ridge and West Knoxville. The festival is scheduled from Thursday, May 17, to Saturday, May 19.

The main event is the Grand Tasting from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 19, on the waterfront at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge. This event features more than 15 Tennessee wineries pouring more than 100 locally made wines and ciders, with live music, chef demonstrations by The Savory Whisk, and wine seminars by a variety of Tennessee wine experts, a press release said.

Music will be provided by the Nashville band Arts Fishing Club and two East Tennessee bands, Wild Blue Yonder, and KUDZU.

Two other smaller events are being offered earlier in the week, a Chef’s Table Wine Dinner at The Cutting Edge Classroom in West Knoxville on Thursday, May 17, and the VIP Taste of Gold at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 18. [Read more…]

Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17

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The 19th annual Lavender Festival returns Saturday, June 17, 2017, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)

The 19th annual Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17, 2017, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)

 

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. [Read more…]

Photos: Lavender Festival in Jackson Square

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Lavender Festival in Jackson Square June 18 2016 1

The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 18, 2016. The festival included artisan vendors in the square and on Broadway. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The 18th annual Lavender Festival on Saturday celebrated herbs, crafts, food, and music. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

The festival celebrated the Herb of the Year, Capsicum, or hot peppers. New this year, “A Taste of Tennessee Wines” brought wine tasting to the festival. The tasting was hosted by Great Valley Wine Trail, which is made up of five independent wineries in East Tennessee.

The Lavender Festival also featured more than 100 artisan vendors, several informative presentations, children’s activities, and live musicians. Vendors lined the covered walkways of Jackson Square, the parking lot, and both sides of Broadway Avenue, which was closed to traffic.

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market was open as usual across from the square from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday.

Lavender Festival in Jackson Square June 18 2016 3

The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Above, children stay cool playing in the interactive fountain in the center of Jackson Square. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

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Barbara Ferrell receives Muddy Boot Award

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David McCoy Barbara Ferrell and David Bradshaw June 17 2016

Barbara Ferrell, center, received a Muddy Boot Award in a surprise ceremony on Friday, June 17, 2016, in conjunction with the Lavender Festival in Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. Also pictured are Dave McCoy, left, and David Bradshaw. (Submitted photo)

 

Barbara Ferrell, who owns The Ferrell Shop in Jackson Square, received the Muddy Boot Award on Friday.

The award is given by the East Tennessee Economic Council. It is a tribute to people who, through their work and community activities, make East Tennessee a stronger region.

The mid-year Muddy Boot Award was given to Ferrell in a surprise ceremony on Friday in conjunction with the annual Lavender Festival in Jackson Square.

Ferrell has been a leading independent retailer in Oak Ridge for more than 25 years, a press release said. She has been the driving force behind the successful Lavender Festival, which celebrates its 18th year this year. [Read more…]

Lavender Festival: Hot peppers, thyroid health, city chicks, TN wine!

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Lavender Festival 1

Photography by Shawn Millsaps

 

Hot peppers, thyroid health, city chickens, and cooking with Tennessee wine are the topics of special presentations at the 18th annual Lavender Festival on Saturday, June 18, in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. Lavender Festival is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, with more than 100 artisan vendors. Festival admission and special presentations are free, except where noted, a press release said.

Indoor Presentations

Location: In the white building in the southeast corner of the square near the stairs [Read more…]

Lavender Festival on June 18 celebrates herbs, crafts, food, music

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2015_LavenderFestival 33

Several thousand people visit Jackson Square Lavender Festival each year, now in a newly renovated Jackson Square. (Photo by Shawn Millsaps)

 

The 18th annual Lavender Festival on Saturday, June 18, will celebrate herbs, crafts, food, and music.

It’s scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 18 in the renovated Jackson Square, which now features a fountain and pleasant sitting area in the center, a press release said.

The festival will celebrate the “Herb of the Year,” Capsicum, or hot peppers.

New this year, “A Taste of Tennessee Wines” brings wine tasting to Lavender Festival, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tasting is hosted by Great Valley Wine Trail, which is made up of five independent wineries in East Tennessee. Many of these Tennessee wines earned silver, gold, and concordance gold medals in the Wines of the South Regional Wine Competition in October 2015 at the University of Tennessee, the press release said. Adults over 21 may purchase a $10 tasting ticket, and will receive a free glass and wine tote, and the opportunity to buy bottles of Tennessee wine and meet the winemakers. Customers may enjoy the wine at seating areas at the festival, with lunch served all day by several food trucks, caterers, and restaurants. A portion of the proceeds of the wine tasting will benefit the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Frustration increases, Council not pleased as Jackson Square work stretches into fall

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Jackson Square Parking Lot Meeting

Oak Ridge municipal staff members and Mayor Warren Gooch met with Jackson Square merchants at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen on Wednesday, July 29, to discuss the $1 million parking lot renovation, which is not yet finished but could be “substantially complete” by Sept. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One merchant said he’s lost more than $100,000 in sales. Another said she had to close her business. And a third has posted signs that express frustration with the pace of construction at Jackson Square.

At one time, there was hope that the $1 million parking lot renovation at Jackson Square would be complete by the Lavender Festival in mid-June. But that didn’t happen. Now, the latest construction schedule estimates that it will be “substantially complete” by September 15—in time for Taste of Anderson County—but not finished until the end of October.

Officials have said the primary delay has been with the interactive fountain that will be installed in the center of Jackson Square. It still hasn’t arrived, and officials have said it could take four weeks to install. On Monday, the contractor and her attorney said the fountain could arrive in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

Even business owners who had an optimistic outlook earlier have lost their patience with the project, which is mostly funded with a state grant. Their primary frustrations: The work has taken much longer than expected, the schedule keeps getting extended, and there have been too many days when, they say, they’ve seen no signs of work. In the meantime, the parking lot in front of their stores was closed for months, and they believe that the construction fencing and orange barrels drove away some potential customers.

“Why can’t they finish this?” asked Jonathan Goldstein of The String Workshop.

“We’ve been nice long enough,” said Dean Russell, owner of Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery.

“I think our frustration is how many days we’ve seen nothing happening as our customer base declines,” said Steve Seivers, who has a law practice in the square, the city’s original town center.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council joined the chorus of frustration. [Read more…]

Merchants frustrated with progress at Jackson Square; protest sign posted

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Jackson Square Parking Lot Renovations Sign

There has been some frustration among merchants at Jackson Square about not being able to use the partially paved parking lot while they wait for renovations to be completed. This protest sign saying “Free Our Parking Lot!!” was posted on Wednesday.

 

Merchants have grown frustrated with the pace of renovations at Jackson Square, and on Wednesday a protest sign was posted. “Free Our Parking Lot!” said the sign, which has since been removed.

For now, the parking lot inside Jackson Square remains closed off behind construction fencing as work continues on a $1 million renovation mostly funded by a state grant awarded in 2012.

But merchants wonder why they can’t use the parking lot since it was used for the Lavender Festival on June 20.

Compounding their frustration is the closure of the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field. It’s one of two lots on the north side of Broadway Avenue and Jackson Square. Employees at nearby businesses who used to park in the Blankenship Field lot are now using the second lot, the one used by the Farmers Market, reducing the parking spaces available there, one merchant said.

The Blankenship Field work, which was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in June, is also causing concern for the Farmers Market. The Farmer Market’s vendors set up in the second parking lot on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and they now don’t have parking available at either the Blankenship Field lot or inside the Jackson Square lot. [Read more…]

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