SEQUIM –– That soothing scent of lavender will fill the air of the Dungeness Valley and the streets of Sequim for the 18th year as Sequim Lavender Weekend fills the city this weekend.
Festivities staged by the Sequim Lavender Farmers Association and the Sequim Lavender Growers Association will take command of the city through Sunday.
Downtown
The 18th Sequim Lavender Festival Street Fair, organized by the growers association, will include more than 150 lavender, craft and food booths downtown, all filled with the wide-ranging musical acts of Lavenderstock on Fir Street between Sequim and Third avenues.
It will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The fair kicks off with an opening ceremony at 11 a.m. today.
Admission is free.
Lavenderstock features more than 15 bands and solo acts who will play on the Main Stage at the intersection of Second Avenue and Alder Street.
Food vendors will serve up lavender and summer-themed foods, and a beer and wind garden stocked by the Cedars at Dungeness will offer up lavender margaritas and martinis throughout the weekend.
For the younger set, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula offers a Festival Fun for Kids next to the Street Fair with interactive games and entertainment for children 12 and younger.
At the park
The Lavender Arts & Crafts Fair in the Park, organized by the farmers association, will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave.
Though the farmers’ function has done away with its opening ceremony this year, the free park event will include lavender booths, juried crafts, a wide array of food vendors, helicopter rides and more.
A baker’s dozen of musical acts will take the stage at the James Center for the Performing Arts throughout the weekend.
To accompany the music, Port Angeles restaurant Bella Italia plans to set up a beer and wine garden in the park.
More vendors, special presentations and music will be stationed at the lavender farms on the farmers’ tour.
raffic coming from the east can stop by the new Sequim Lavender Welcome Center at 7 Cedars casino, 270756 U.S. Highway 101, where lavender lovers can pick up information about Lavender Weekend and purchase tickets to the Heritage Lavender Farm Tour.
Once in town, drivers can park their cars and take the free in-city shuttle, which stops at J.C. Penney, Sequim Middle School, the Lavender Festival Street Fair, Sequim Farmers Market, QFC, the Lavender Arts & Crafts Fair in the Park and at Second Avenue and Washington Street.
Travel to the farms requires automobiles, but each farm has ample parking for those passionate about purple.
Sunshine Herb & Lavender Farm at 274154 U.S. Highway 101 is open to the public but is not listed on either association’s tour.
Farmers group
The farmers association has organized the Lavender Farm Tour and Fair.
The Heritage Lavender Farm Tour takes visitors to five lavender farms around the valley: Jardin du Soleil Lavender Farm, 3932 Sequim-Dungeness Way; Lost Mountain Lavender Farm, 1541 Taylor Cutoff Road; Olympic Lavender Heritage Farm, 1532 Marine Drive; Purple Haze Lavender Farm, 180 Bell Bottom Road; and Washington Lavender Farm, 965 Finn Hall Road.
Farms will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Sunday.
The Farm Tour farms require paid admission.
Visitors can purchase single-day passes at each farm, at the park fair or at the casino for $10 or three-day weekend passes for $25. Active-duty military tickets and children 12 and younger will be admitted for free.
Growers association
The growers association’s Sequim Lavender Festival Farm Tour includes seven farms: Blackberry Forest, 136 Forrest Road; Graysmarsh Farm, 6187 Woodcock Road; Martha Lane Lavender, 371 Martha Lane; Nelson’s Duckpond & Lavender Farm, 73 Humble Hill Road; Oliver’s Lavender Farm, 82 Cameron Acres Lane; Peninsula Nurseries, 1210 Sequim-Dungeness Way; and The Lavender Connection, 1141 Cays Road.
Farms will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today through Sunday.
Admission to the farms on this tour is free.
Here’s where to see the PDN’s and Sequim Gazette’s Lavender Weekend guide (of which hard copies are available at Lavender Weekend venues): http://issuu.com/peninsuladailynews/docs/lavender2014?e=1313114/8574889
The city’s official Sequim Lavender Weekend website is at http://tinyurl.com/lavenderweekend.
The growers association website is at www.lavenderfestival.com.
The farmers association website is at www.sequimlavender.org.
