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Photo by Tom Banse
This weekend, around 30,000 people are expected to descend on Sequim, Washington for that small town’s 14th annual lavender festival. Organizers boast it is North America’s biggest celebration of the purple herb. Lavender festivals are blossoming all over the Northwest. There’s another one in Twin Falls, Idaho this Saturday and on San Juan Island, Washington Saturday and Sunday. Correspondent Tom Banse takes stock of what’s become a growth industry.
If “U-pick” lavender or lavender sachets aren’t your thing, maybe you’ll succumb to lavender body butter, ice cream, salad dressing, lavender BBQ rub, eye pillows or dog bandanas. Those are just some of the cottage businesses that have sprouted lately based on the fragrant herb.
Mary Jendrucko: “It just caught on.â€
Mary Jendrucko and her husband planted a lavender farm near Sequim in 2000. Membership in her local growers’ association has tripled since then.
Mary Jendrucko: “I think it’s because the world is so crazy and people want to relax. Lavender has those known qualities for relaxation.â€
Jendrucko says one nice side benefit of the dramatic growth in the lavender business is seeing farmland preserved which otherwise might be converted to housing developments.
Lavender businesses in Oregon recently reached the critical mass needed to form their own industry association. Last weekend, lavender lovers had no fewer than seven different festivals to choose from across the Northwest.
On the Web:
Lavender Festival – Twin Falls, ID (July 17)
San Juan Island Lavender Festival (July 17-18)
Copyright 2010 Northwest News Network
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The Northwest News Network is a collaboration of public radio stations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. N3's reporters bring a regional perspective to daily news and produce features that go beyond the headlines.
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