Oak Ridge Today

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…]

Arts & Antiques in Jackson Square on Saturday features cars, chalk art, movie, book exchange

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Arts in the Square Summer 2017 500x773

Arts and Antiques in Jackson Square on Saturday will feature vintage and antique cars, chalk art and crafts, arts and antiques, food and the Oak Ridge Farmers Market, storytellers and authors, and a book exchange and the movie “The Pagemaster.”

There are two separate rounds of activities. Both will be in Jackson Square in central Oak Ridge.

The first round of activities, Arts and Antiques in the Square, is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. It will feature the Fast ‘N Classy Car Club, which is bringing vintage, antique, and new cars that are “fast and classy.”

Also as part of the activities, Jackson Square merchants have partnered with the Oak Ridge Rotary Club to promote the upcoming Street Chalk Festival. Sponsors and artists can come and register for that festival in advance on Saturday, said Linda Johnston, owner of Through the Looking Glass in Jackson Square. Artists will be doing chalk art in the square on Saturday, Johnston said.

Arts and Antiques will also include arts and crafts vendors, the Oak Ridge Farmers Market in the parking lot on the north side of Broadway Avenue, the Jackson Square shops, and food, including funnel cake, Johnston said. [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…]

Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens Saturday

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Farmers Market

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens for the season in Jackson Square at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 15. It will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and from 3 p.m. to sellout on Wednesdays starting June 7. (File photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens for the season in Jackson Square on Saturday, April 15.

The Farmers Market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It will be open from 3 p.m. to sellout on Wednesday starting June 7.

The farmers markets are operated by the East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM. FARM celebrated its 40th anniversary last fall.

According to FARM history, two law students from the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University organized Food Fairs in 1976 that would bring farmers together to eventually create the Farmers Association for Retail Marketing.

“The primary objectives of the project were to increase income for family farmers in Tennessee by providing new markets and to get fresh, homegrown produce to urban consumers at fair prices,” the FARM history said. [Read more…]

Last seven days have been great for Oak Ridge, mayor says; read presentation here

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Warren Gooch (2016 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This is a lightly edited version of a presentation that Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch gave to the East Tennessee Economic Council on Friday, September 9.

It is a pleasure for me to be here this morning as I begin my 22nd month as mayor and to share my thoughts about the positive direction of our city, and why that is important to you and your companies. First, I want to thank you for supporting Oak Ridge and investing your time and your money here.

My family and I have lived in Oak Ridge for 23 years. But my law firm, Kramer Rayson, has been involved in one way or another with Oak Ridge from its earliest days when our founding partner, Russell Kramer, received a call from an old friend in Washington. (Gooch tells a story about a telephone call with President Roosevelt.)

By any standard, the last seven days have been great for Oak Ridge and have increased the excitement that is being expressed about the momentum of our city.

First, demolition has accelerated at the old mall as construction for Main Street Oak Ridge ushers in a new and exciting era for our community. The tax increment financing (TIF) loan for Main Street had closed, and so has the loan for the new Marriott hotel that is being built. The importance of Main Street Oak Ridge to the image and self-confidence of our city and the economic vitality of Oak Ridge, Anderson, and Roane counties cannot be overstated. The success of Main Street and the continued redevelopment of our center city’s retail, residential, and commercial properties is my number one priority. We must work hard to maintain this momentum and take full advantage of it in the coming months. If we are successful, it will help you recruit the new workers you require for your businesses.

Second, LeMond Composites announced its licensing agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and that the company is coming to Oak Ridge to manufacture innovative, high-volume, low-cost, carbon fiber in the Horizon Center Industrial Park.

Third, the National Park Service named Kris Kirby as the superintendent of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. [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.

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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)

[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…]

Arts and Antiques in the Square on Saturday

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The merchants of Jackson Square invite you to join them this Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. for Arts and Antiques in the Square.

Artisans and dealers of vintage and antique items will be on hand to showcase their wares for purchase, a press release said.

There will be live music from Liza Jane and Fiddlin Curly Cottrell, and they will share their knowledge of “good ole mountain music” beginning at 12 p.m., the release said. [Read more…]

Arts and Antiques in Jackson Square starts this month

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Arts-Antiques-Jackson-Square-2016

The Jackson Square Merchants Association is starting a series of Saturday events called Arts and Antiques in the Square.

The series will be on the last Saturday of the month. It starts April 30 and runs through October 29.

“Our goal is to celebrate the local artistic talent in our area, help recycle antique/vintage items, as well as showcase the businesses in and around the square,” a press release said.

It pointed out that Oak Ridge Farmers Market is also in the square on Saturdays, starting later this month.

Arts and Antiques in the Square is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month, with setup from 8-8:30 a.m. Local artisans and vintage/antique dealers can sell, and there is a $25 cost for space. [Read more…]

Photo: Vendors at Oak Ridge Farmers Market

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There were four vendors at the Oak Ridge Farmers Market at Jackson Square on January 30 and three on February 27. (Photo by Ray Evans)

 

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market officially opens in April, but a few vendors have already been at the market and set up on Saturday mornings.

There were four vendors at the Farmers Market on Saturday, January 30, and three on Saturday, February 27, said Ray Evans, Oak Ridge retail consultant.

Last year, the Farmers Market opened for its 39th season in mid-April. During the season, it’s generally open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. The Wednesday markets started in May last year. [Read more…]

Construction: Part of Broadway to close on Saturday mornings for Farmers Market

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Oak Ridge Farmers Market and Jackson Square

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market is pictured above with Jackson Square in the background. The section of Broadway in front of Jackson Square will be closed on Saturday mornings for the Farmers Market until more parking becomes available. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market will be set up differently at Jackson Square starting Saturday, July 11, and for the next six to eight weeks to provide additional parking for customers.

Because both Blankenship Field and Jackson Square parking lots are closed for repaving, the City of Oak Ridge will be closing Broadway Avenue every Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to noon in front of Jackson Square until more parking becomes available.

This will allow some farmers to set up on Broadway Avenue, while others will remain in a smaller area of the Farmers Market parking lot, allowing more space for customer parking. The Farmers Market will not block any sidewalks in Jackson Square, so that customers can still get to the shops and businesses there, a press release said. [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…]