Oak Ridge Today

Lavender Festival is Saturday

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

The annual Lavender Festival is Saturday in Jackson Square.

It’s the 24th festival and presented by the City of Oak Ridge. It’s scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the city’s historic center.

“Lavender Festival celebrates good health, local creativity, the environment, and of course, all things lavender!” a press release said. “The highlight of the festival are 150 juried artisan and food vendors, with handmade and locally grown items, everything from pottery and woodworking, iron work, handmade baskets, and more.”

Some of the new artisan vendors this year include Aviary Broom Co., Butter from the Block, Millborne Bakery, Marigold & Marie, and Rising Star Leather. New food vendors include Groovy Grub, Knox Bun, Frog Juice, and Barriga Llena.

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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…]

Secret City Festival is this weekend

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Although numbers weren't immediately available, organizers said a record-setting crowd attended the Three Dog Night concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday. (Photo by Jon Hetrick)

A record-setting crowd is pictured above at the Three Dog Night concert at the Secret City Festival in June 2015. (File photo courtesy Jon Hetrick)

 

The Secret City Festival on Friday and Saturday will feature music, food, children’s activities, historic exhibits, arts and crafts, technology, robotics, magic, a juggler, a K-9 search demonstration, wine tasting, tours of two federal sites, veterans parade, an attempt to set a world record in a basketball game, and headline concerts featuring Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx, and Little River Band.

There have been pre-festival events this week, including a Battle of the Bands tonight (Thursday, June 7), and a live radio broadcast featuring two bands on Monday, and a Children’s Movie Night on Wednesday.

At the Secret City Festival this weekend, a main stage concert on Friday night will feature Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx. The opening band is The Band Legacy. The show starts at 7 p.m.

The main stage concert on Saturday night will feature the Little River Band. The opening band is Janelle Arthur. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available online or at Citizens First Bank at 1298 Oak Ridge Turnpike for $25. [Read more…]