SEQUIM — Lavender farmers and growers are busy this week beautifying their fields in advance of Sequim Lavender Weekend, touted as the largest lavender event in North America.
The three-day community-wide event will be held Friday through Sunday at various locations.
It will include a street fair, quilt shows, art exhibits, concerts, wine tasting, live theatrical performances and farm tours.
The Street Fair, hosted by the Sequim Lavender Growers Association, will be held on Fir Street between Sequim and Third Avenues.
There will be more than 150 juried arts and crafts booths set up to offer specialty lavender products.
Concessions will be available for purchase.
There also will be live music as part of Lavenderstock at the main stage during all three days and a free street dance from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
The growers association and members of the Sequim Lavender Farmers Association — along with individual farms that have no affiliation to either organization — are hosting the farm tours this year.
“The biggest change this year is that there is not an organized farmers tour, which is the tour in the past that had one fee that you would pay and you could go to [multiple] farms,” said Barbara Hanna, city communications and marketing director.
“The difference this year is that there are [several] farms open to the public that are charging fees. They are independent fees.”
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to pour into local farms, and the farmers are ready to greet them with all things lavender.
The aromatic scent of the purple flower is omnipresent at Purple Haze Lavender Farm, where a staff of 30 employees and 60 volunteers anticipate up to 30,000 visitors during their Purple Haze Daze festival — held in conjunction with Lavender Weekend.
“It is a big event here,” said Mike Reichner, 68, who owns the farm with his wife, Rosalind, 66.
Entry onto the farm will cost $10 per person for all three days.
The farm is not affiliated with either the farmers or growers associations.
“We encourage people to wander around [and] have fun,” Reichner said.
“That has always been our philosophy. Have a good time.”
Reichner enjoys sharing the beauty of his 13-acre farm with visitors, especially during Lavender Weekend.
“That is my pat on the back,” he said. “That is my pay day.”
Farmers association members will offer various events at local farms, with individual fees determined at each location.
These farms include Jardin du Soleil Lavender in partnership with Olympic Lavender Heritage Farm, Lost Mountain Lavender and Washington Lavender.
Each farm is distinctive and reflects the vision of its owners and the surrounding environment.
During the weekend celebration, these farmers will share their techniques for cultivating, harvesting, drying and using lavender.
And each farm is a festival all its own with fields of lavender, hundreds of lavender products, workshops, demonstrations, crafts, food, beverages and music.
“The flowers are looking fantastic,” said Marco Hermosillo, who co-owns Olympic Lavender Heritage Farm with his wife, Christa.
“All the varieties are blooming great, and the crop is looking ready for harvest.”
Hermosillo is “excited to be a part of Lavender Weekend and to celebrate our 19th annual Olympic Lavender Festival,” he said.
He estimates between 3,000 to 7,000 will visit his farm.
For those looking for free events, farmers affiliated with the growers association will offer self-guided tours at eight area farms for no cost from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. all three days.
The farms are Blackberry Forest, Graysmarsh Farm, Nelson’s Duckpond & Lavender Farm, Martha Lane Lavender, Oliver’s Farm, The Lavender Connection, Fat Cat Garden & Gifts and Peninsula Nurseries.
“As always, the grounds have been manicured, and we have lavender in bloom,” said Vicki West of Oliver’s Farm.
Her parents, Don and Claudine Oliver, founded the farm.
Each year, West and her five siblings help prepare the 2,100 plants on the grounds for Lavender Weekend.
“We just love this time of the year,” she said. “It is one big family get-together.”
Lavender Weekend “is an opportunity to just blow up our farms for three days and really enhance the lavender experience,” Hermosillo said.
“Our farm festivals and the street fair are an opportunity to highlight agritourism. It brings a lot of folks here to town and therefore helps complement what Sequim already offers.”
For a complete list of events on the city’s Lavender Weekend website, see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-lavenderweekend.
For more on the growers association, see www.lavenderfestival.com.
For more on the farmers association, see www.sequimlavender.org.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
