SEQUIM — Fourteen open farms, two free fairs, one mellowing scent: Sequim Lavender Weekend promises a plenitude of pleasure.
With the Sequim Lavender Farmers Association and the Sequim Lavender Growers Association both hosting full-fledged farm tours, vendors’ gatherings and stages full of live music, Sequim and the Dungeness Valley are a multisensory mecca today through Sunday.
“Follow the fragrance,” advised farmer Paul Jendrucko of the growers association.
“Follow the sound,” too, he added: At the Fir Street Fair, sponsored by the growers association, and at Lavender in the Park at Carrie Blake Park, hosted by the farmers association, there’s free music of just about every stripe.
Hot Club Sandwich, for
example, will play gypsy jazz at 11 a.m. Saturday and 12:15 p.m. Sunday at the Street Fair, which is on Fir Street between Third and Sequim avenues.
The fair, this year nicknamed “Lavenderstock,” also showcases the Shula Azhar belly dancers at 3:15 p.m. today, country blues by Blue Rooster at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 other bands during the weekend.
At Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave., the James Center band shell is the venue for another full slate of musical acts.
To start the festivities today, the 133rd Army Band will strike up at 10:30 a.m., and gardening guru Ciscoe Morris will host opening ceremonies at 11:45 a.m.
Performers at the James Center’s outdoor amphitheater include Seattle’s Pearl Django jazz band at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. today. The group will then appear at the 5:30 p.m. “Jazz in the Alley” concert at BrokersGroup Real Estate, 219 W. Washington St. Admission to that event today is free, and all ages are welcome.
Admission is also free to the Street Fair and to Lavender in the Park, and shuttle buses are serving both.
In addition to all that music, the two events showcase local cuisine, from vegan hot dogs to lavender ice cream to grilled salmon, plus an equally diverse mix of nonprofit groups, from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula to the Northwest Wildlife & Raptor Center.
Farm tours
All across the valley, meanwhile, lavender fields are intensifying in color.
Those who visit have many options: simply picking lavender, sipping beverages and nibbling on light refreshments on the growers association’s free tour, or visiting the mini-festivals at each stop on the farmers association’s Heritage Farm Tour.
Admission to the latter is $15, $10 for active-duty military and spouses, or free for children 12 and younger, with tickets available at any of the participating farms:
— Purple Haze, 180 Bell Bottom Lane.
— Port Williams Lavender, 1442 Port Williams Road.
— Jardin du Soleil, 3932 Sequim-Dungeness Way.
— Olympic Lavender, 1432 Marine Drive.
— Washington Lavender, 939 Finn Hall Road.
— Lost Mountain Lavender, 1541 Taylor Cutoff Road.
— Sunshine Herb & Lavender, east of town at 274154 U.S. Highway 101.
The above farms each have activities, food and drink vendors, artisans’ displays and live music today through Sunday, and all seven are served by the Heritage Farm Tour buses.
Lavender lovers also can drive or bicycle to one or more of the stops on the growers association’s free “U-Tour”:
— Blackberry Forest, a lavender and berry farm at 136 Forrest Road.
— Graysmarsh, another expanse of lavender and fruit, at 6187 Woodcock Road.
— Nelson’s Duckpond and Lavender Farm at 73 Humble Hill Road.
— Martha Lane Lavender at 371 Martha Lane.
— Oliver’s Lavender Farm at 82 Cameron Acres Lane.
— The Lavender Connection at 1141 Cays Road.
— Peninsula Nurseries in its new location at 1060 Sequim-Dungeness Way.
Back in town, yet another attraction may be up in the air: Scott Nagel of the farmers association is anticipating a rare sight above Carrie Blake Park.
As a foreshadowing of the Sequim Balloon Festival, set for Sept. 1-3, hot-air balloons will be launched — weather permitting — from the park. Starting this morning, “three balloons will be going up and down,” if wind conditions cooperate, Nagel said.
These big orbs can rise to 150 feet, so “even if you’re not necessarily a lavender fan,” he added, “come to the park because this is going to be the coolest thing.”
Jendrucko of the growers association likewise invites everybody, not only those who are craving the purple herb, to various facets of the weekend.
“We’re trying to appeal to a lot of demographics,” he said.
“I call it the modern family,” as in folks whose interests vary widely.
Near the Fir Street Fair, Jendrucko noted, two other exhibitions have non-herbal appeal: the Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Show inside Sequim Middle School, 301 W. Hendrickson Road, and the Lavender Car Show, a display of antique, classic and custom rides in the middle school parking lot.
All of this is coming together with a few staff people with a whole lot of help, noted Nagel.
“We have more than 150 volunteers,” he said, “and they are really excited about the Lavender Weekend.”
Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.