SEQUIM — The call was heard around the country: We lavender growers want pictures.
Pictures of pets with lavender, wildlife and herbs, whatever lavender means in your life.
And so the artists responded, sending a total of 42 images in to “A Shade of Purple,” the first-ever Sequim Lavender Growers Association art show and poster contest, to be unveiled Friday evening at one of the year’s most fragrant parties.
The Lavender Growers’ bazaar, from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, will fill the Guy Cole Convention Center with gifts, food, drink — and this time around, art.
Admission is free, while plenty of edible treats and lavender items will be for sale. The convention center is found inside Carrie Blake Park at 202 N. Blake Ave.
The “Shade of Purple” show, explained grower Paul Jendrucko, is also the association’s contest for the 2012 Lavender Festival poster.
The group issued an invitation to art schools and artists around the nation, and received entries from both coasts: photographer Linda Milovich of Fredericksburg, Va., painter Paul Sloan of Emmett, Idaho; and watercolorist Melanie Reed Arrington of Sequim are among the contributors.
Vote for favorite art
So while lavender lovers can come shop, snack and sip lavender-infused beverages during the bazaar, they can also vote for their favorite work of art, said Amy Lundstrom, co-owner of Nelson’s Duck Pond just west of Sequim.
Nelson’s is one of about 10 local lavender operations offering herbal goods. Lundstrom listed her highlights: “We’ll have our famous pound cake and torte, all our spices, teas, soaps and lotions, trivets and lavender wreaths,” she said.
Other lavender farmers will lay out their treats, of course, in hopes that shoppers will choose to send lavender to loved ones for the holidays — and beyond.
“Lavender is a perennial plant,” said Jendrucko, who owns the Sequim Lavender Co.
With about 150 other lavender festivals held around the continent each year, he hopes to build Sequim’s brand.
“We created this artwork thing,” Jendrucko said, “to make lavender a perennial fixture in your life, all year round.”
Meantime, the Sequim Lavender Growers Association will select the art for next year’s festival poster in January.
Sequim’s “lavender weekend” is always held the third weekend of July in downtown Sequim and at nearby lavender farms.
The Sequim Lavender Growers Association hosts one festival, while the Sequim Lavender Farmers Association holds another, simultaneously.
For more information about the Friday-Saturday art show and to see all 42 entries in it, visit the Sequim Lavender Growers Association’s Facebook page or www.SequimLavenderFestival.com.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
