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Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
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Fresh Lavender Fields are Euphoric for Visitors to the Eleventh Annual Sequim Lavender Festival |
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| Fresh Lavender Fields are Euphoric for Visitors to the Eleventh Annual Sequim Lavender Festival | ||
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2007 Sequim Lavender Festival July 20-22, Sequim, Washington By E. Joyce Glasgow - SGN Arts & Entertainment Writer Strolling through heavenly fields of fresh blooming lavender, of different shades of purple, of different textures and different scents and enjoying creatively prepared food and drink containing lavender, made me euphoric! I never knew lavender could do that. I was exposed to more lavender in one day than ever before and it took its potent and magical effects over me. Maybe others feel the same as 35,000-40,000 people from all over the world visit annually. The Sequim-Dungeness Valley is known as the "Lavender Capital of North America". If you've never been to the Sequim Lavender Festival before, I highly recommend a visit next July. It makes a lovely day trip adventure from Seattle, or book a weekend (as soon as possible) at a lovely bed and breakfast on the Olympic Peninsula and enjoy leisurely visits to the eight farms on the tour, the Festival Street Fair, which features music, food, crafts and lavender products and the six local wineries that also offer special touring hours to co-ordinate with the Lavender Festival. There are shuttle buses which take you out to the farms from town and are a nice alternative to driving. The farm tour costs $15.00 per person, which gives you access by bus or car to all eight farms. My companion and I thought we could easily visit all eight farms in one day, but found that each farm had such unique charms and entertainment that we happily settled into enjoying four and really took our time to relax at each. We first visited Sunshine Herb and Lavender Farm ( "http://www.sunshinelavender.com" www.sunshinelavender.com), where we enjoyed country music by the Northwest Country Boys, a trio of elder gentlemen, who all grew up in the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula. Here we also enjoyed lavender-lemon sorbet and a bagel with lavender-honey butter. Our next visit was to one of the most famous and one of the oldest lavender farms in Sequim, the Purple Haze Lavender Farm (www.purplehazelavender.com). I love the reference to the song of the same title by Jimi Hendrix and how appropriate it is! This picturesque farm, with its rolling fields of lavender, is lovely to behold. Geoffrey Castle played his solo electric violin, as listeners tried lavender margaritas, lavender ice cream, salad with lavender dressing and fresh grilled salmon. The gift shop was filled with wonderful lavender products, as were all the farms' gift shops, including lavender dark chocolate, which was scrumptious! We then headed for Jardin du Soleil Lavender Farm ( "http://www.jardindusoleil.com" www.jardindusoleil.com), a certified organic farm, surrounding an 1880 Victorian home, where we picked up some very fragrant lavender and herb soap and tried skewers of chicken prepared with lavender barbeque sauce. Our final stop was lovely and intimate Angel Farm, another older and well-established lavender farm, with a display of black-eyed Susans growing midst the lavender. They have a charming, weathered barn, with numerous bouquets of lavender hung to dry from the ceiling and where, yearly, on the Saturday night of the festival, there is a sunset, wild salmon barbeque and barn dance, benefiting the Friends of the Fields Foundation. This farm has been featured on "Taste of America". The chef on this farm annually, creating delicious and creative recipes, is Neil Conklin. Conklin is one of the founders of the Sequim Lavender Festival and is the owner of a wonderful, popular and reasonably priced restaurant in downtown Port Angeles, called "Bella Italia" ( "http://www.bellaitaliapa.com" www.bellaitaliapa.com), where my companion and I had a delicious Italian meal later on in the evening, including a fabulous Tiramisu. Conklin prides himself on using fresh, natural and locally grown ingredients in his recipes. "Bella Italia" won a 2006 "Award of Excellence" from Wine Spectator Magazine for its extensive and fine wine list. First Lady, Laura Bush, dined there, with her friends, when they went hiking in Olympic National Park and there is a hand-written thank-you note from her, framed and hanging on the wall. At Angel Farm, Conklin delighted visitors with his lavender grilled prawns, lavender sausages, lavender grilled chicken and a thirst-quenching lavender lemonade. The farm also featured a lavender champagne drink and lavender cheesecake. The dining area was set up amongst picturesque fruit trees. It was at this farm that I cut and gathered a beautiful fresh and fragrant lavender bouquet to take home (all the farms allowed you to pick lavender for $5.00 a bunch) and found a really great variety of lavender products to purchase. Neil Conklin told us that more members of the Gay community had attended this year's lavender festival than ever before. The four other farms that were on the tour were: Lost Mountain Lavender ( "http://www.lostmountainlavender.com" www.lostmountainlavender.com), which features more than 100 different cultivars of lavender and a fruit tree orchard; Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb Farm ( "http://www.cedarbrooklavender.com" www.cedarbrooklavender.com), the first and oldest herb farm in the state of Washington with hundreds of varieties of lavender and herbs; Olympic Lavender Farm ( "http://www.olympiclavender.com" www.olympiclavender.com), which has a beautiful view of the Olympic Mountains from their lavender fields and Port Williams Lavender ( "http://www.portwilliamslavender.com" www.portwilliamslavender.com), which features curving rows of deep, rich purple lavender. The executive director of the festival is Scott Nagel, who for many years was instrumental in producing and running the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle, until moving to the Olympic Peninsula. The Sequim Lavender Festival is sponsored by The Sequim Lavender Growers Association, a non-profit corporation. For more information about the festival visit: "http://www.lavendergrowers.org" www.lavendergrowers.org. or "http://www.lavenderfestival.com" www.lavenderfestival.com or call 877-681-3035. |
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