SEQUIM — Lavender has a particular power over people. It does something mystical for ice cream, too.
This power was in evidence Saturday as herbal essences enveloped the town — and the country around it — during the 10th annual Lavender Festival.
Visitors from New Zealand to Tacoma walked peaceably among the plants, gifts and treats. They rode the shuttle buses to the farms and the Fir Street fair, or they drove their cars, or they strolled.
Whichever, they moved at a slow, savory pace.
It’s the lavender that produces this attitude, said Carol Pruden of Sequim.
“It hits you, as soon as you walk in,” Pruden said, to the street fair. The plant is mild, medicinal — and delicious when paired with white chocolate or lemon in the ice cream at Cedarbrook Herb and Lavender Farm.
This delicate dessert, along with the enchanted lavender brownies, is enough to put even the most stressed-out urban dweller into a mellow state of mind.
Key to good festival
The key to a good festival experience is going with the flow, said Michelle Goodrie Evans, who came from Issaquah to help Cedarbrook visitors make lavender-bud sachets and “halos” from lavender fronds.
If you find you like the atmosphere at one of the farms, she added, stay.
“Don’t try to do all of it. Just enjoy the moment,” Evans said.
Even the men seemed fine with all the prettiness.
“I keep my mouth shut,” joked Jim Hulsman, who came with his wife from the Seattle suburb of Sammamish.
“No, really, I enjoy the colors. I didn’t realize there were so many different types of lavender.”
Don’t fight the feelings, Hulsman added: “Just relax, and take in all the scents.”
THE SEQUIM LAVENDER Festival street fair runs today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the farms are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free shuttles to downtown, the fair and the farms also run all day.
Visit an information booth on Fir Street, on Alder Street near Second Avenue or at the Sequim Visitor Center, at the east end of Washington Street near Rhodefer Road.
More details are available at www.lavenderfestival.com.
