The eight annual Lavender Festival will be the last, say organizers of the two-day celebration of this sweet smelling herb. Although the end is in sight, Marilyn and Jerry Cade, owners of Mountain Farm near Burnsville, will not scale back the activities, which are planned for Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16.
There will be a lavender labyrinth and workshops on everything from cooking with lavender to making lavender mead and distilling essential oils. Musicians Bruce Greene and Don Pedi will bring the sweet sounds of traditional mountain music to the festival.
The public is invited to wander the farm’s organic lavender fields and pick a final bouquet before the farm turns to dairy goats as its primary focus. “We’re downsizing our lives because we’re getting three new grandchildren this year and want to spend more time with our kids,” says Marilyn Cade. “It’s not going to be an agritourism farm anymore.”
The festival brings out out approximately 1,000 lavender-lovers each year, a testament to our area’s passion for the flower. “I had no idea that lavender was so popular in America. It’s just been the best fun to have the festival at this location and at this elevation, with such incredible views of the Blue Ridge Mountains,” says Cade.
Marilyn Cade came by her love of lavender naturally. She lived in France in the late 1950s while her family was stationed oversees. The gardens around their home on the outskirts of Paris were festooned in lilacs and lavender. This bounty inspired Cade when she moved to WNC as a young wife and mother. For the past seven years she has shared her joy with the public during the annual festival.
The Lavender Festival runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Mountain Farm is located at 3001 Halls Chapel Road, Burnsville. $10; children 10 and under free. Parking is free and a shuttle is available. The farm is not handicap accessible and family dogs should be left at home. Info and directions: MountainFarm.net or 675-4856.
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