Agriculture Lesson #7: From France to US, Lavender Farms and 4 Festivals

Photo by Krenda

A friend of mine visited Provence, France and raved about the lavender fields.  The Mediterranean mountains and Africa are known as lavender locations.  I imagined her strolling through the fields and visiting cute gift shops.  She brought me back lavender soap which I treasured.  The perennial flowering shrub smells so fragrant.  It's often found in beauty care items, sometimes with a claim to help relaxation and sleep.  This began my research in how to visit a lavender farm a little closer to home.

Born in the south of France, Martine Anderson became the founder of the Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm in Washington Island, Wisconsin.  Martine
began growing lavender gardens with her husband Edgar.  In 2013, the farm staff planted 9,000 plants and now there's 30,000 lavender plants.  So I scheduled our Door County Wisconsin vacation around the July timing of the Lavender Festival at the Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm.  It took all of us boarding a ferry to Washington Island.  We strolled through the fields, saw freshly harvested lavender hanging in the working barn, watched demonstrations, listened to live music, and tasted samples of food containing lavender.  The festival offered painting classes near the fields too.  While lavender for culinary and aromatic purposes, I prefer the scent versus the taste.  My sister doesn't appreciate the scent as much as me, so she gladly gave me her lavender organza sachet.

France inspired other growers.  In 1999, Rob Kendrick and his wife Jeannie Ralston shot a story for national Geographic about lavender farming and perfume-making in Provence.  In 1999, they planted 2,000 plants and now you can visit their farm Hill Country Farm in Texas, near San Antonio and Austin.  Visit the farm May to July or you can buy their lavender-lemon tea cookies online.

You can find lavender farms coast to coast in the United States.  Here's three more lavender festivals for you and your family to consider:
1.  Sequim Lavender Festival, Sequim, Washington; June-Labor Day
Considered the "Lavender Capital" of North America, Sequim celebrates with a street fair of craft booths, LavenderStock music stage, free self-guided farm tours at eight farms
Kids can stay active in the KidsZone including a dance party, quick golf, obstacle course, and minute to win it challenges
2.  Michigan Lavender Festival; Imlay City, MI; Eastern Michigan Fairgrounds (North of Detroit); July
Admission includes shuttle, educational classes and demos, 5-minute mini massage, daily yoga sessions at 11AM and 2PM, and many demos (knitting, pottery, broom making, spinning & weaving), pamper yourself with an express lavender facial for $20 or listen to live music
Kid's activity barn includes crafts such as DIY lavender play dough demo for age 12 and under
3.  Ojai Valley Lavender Festival; Ojai, California; June
Ojai declared June as Lavender Month.  Take advantage of free parking and shuttle; learn from talks such as "growing lavender" and "cooking with lavender" at Lavender Inn, listen to live music and expect a crowd as the festival has attracted over 4,500 attendees
 4.  Blanco Lavender Festival, Blanco, TX; June
Free admission to the festival and farm, live music, listen to speakers at the courthouse on horticulture and bee keeping

If you can't time your visit just right for a festival, visit a farm in the summer:
1.  Ali' Kula Lavender Farm; Maui, Hawaii; June to Aug.
2.  Mt. Shasta Lavender Farms; Montague, California
3.  Pelindaba Lavender Farm; Washington State's San Juan Island; April to Oct.
4.  Hood River Lavender Farm; Oregon; May to Oct.
5.  Red Rock Randeh & Farm Growers of High Altitude Lavender; Concho, Arizona
6.  Los Poblanos Lavender Farm; Albuquerque, New Mexico
7.  Sprigs and Sprouts; Palisade, Colorado
8.  White Oak Lavender Farm; Harrisburg, Virginia; open year-round
9.  Lavender by the Bay; East Marion, NY; June - Oct.
10.  Peace Valley Lavender Farms; Bucks County, PA;  open year-round

Agriculture Lesson #8: Frankfurt Germany's Market Hall & 15 U.S. Farmers' Markets

When my business partners take me to local sites, it's a real treat to learn about the culture, history, and local agriculture.  I appreciated my business partners taking me to the Klein Market Halle in Frankfurt, Germany.  The market had a building built in the early 19th century, but it World War II destroyed it.  Reconstructed in the mid-Fifties, you can now appreciate the European art deco style.  With over 1,200 sq m of space and 156 market stalls, you can find a wide variety of fresh produce and flowers including wurst, mustard, dried fruit, and Frankfurt's famous green sauce.  The fishmonger resides downstairs and we treated ourselves to fresh oysters upstairs, overlooking the market.

You don't need to fly to Germany to give your kids the experience of buying fresh produce from farmers.  Visit your local farmers' market.  When you plan a vacation, look up the dates and places of farmers' markets.

As a college student at the University of Wisconsin, I enjoyed beautiful summer and fall days at the Dane County Farmers' Market on the Square.  Located on the sidewalks surrounding the State Capitol, the smells, bright colors, and sounds was like a weekly celebration.  Instruments played, people laughed and ate on the lawn.  Who can resist bread full of melted cheese?  I'm not the only one who enjoyed the experience.  I met Peter Greenberg, New York Times Bestselling Author and fellow UW-grad, and he included Madison in "Best Places to Visit Food Markets" within his book The Best Places for Everything:  "Guess where my favorite farmers' market in the country is located.  Napa Valley?  New York City?  Nope.  It's in Madison, Wisconsin.  The Dane County Farmers' market is the largest producer-only farmers' market in the United States.  The "no resale" rule means that the person behind the tables is the same person who grew or made the product."

I've sold behind the table a few times, invited by my aunts, uncles, and cousin who are the farmers growing the produce.  It's healthy to buy local and fresh.  If you visit the Quad Cities (Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline), stop by the farmers' market say "hi" to the farmers and purchase vegetables or flower. 

The 2014 Fodor "America's 15 Best Farmers' Markets" includes the Dane County Farmers' Market and these 14 other markets:
1.  Portland Farmers' Market on Portland State University's campus (WA) - 140 vendors
2.  Union Square Greenmarket (NY) - 140 farmers, open year-round
3.  Pike Place Market (Seattle,WA) - 80 farmers
4.  Santa Fe Farmers (NM) - 150 vendors
5.  Charleston Farmer's Market (SC)
6.  Davis Farmer's Market (CA)
7.  Green City Market (Chicago, IL) near Lincoln Park - 55 vendors
8.  Ferry Plaza Farmers Market (San Francisco, CA)
9.  Eastern Market at D.C.'s historic Capitol Hill
10.  St. Paul Farmers' Market (MN)
11.  Santa Monica Farmers' Market (CA)- 75 farmers
12.  Sweet Auburn Market near Atlanta (GA) - 20 vendors
13. Crescent City Farmer's Market New Orleans (LA)
14.  Burlington Farmers' Market (VT) - 40 vendors, Sat. May to Oct. since 1980

Agriculture Lesson #6: From Turkey to US, Cherry Picking Farms & 7 Festivals

Cherry Picking, Photo by Krenda

One of my favorite memories about spending time on my grandparent's farm was picking cherries with grandpa.  Peering from the farm house lace curtain decorated windows, I could see the cherry trees.  If I saw too many birds, I might jump up and run out to scare them away.  Grandpa's nets worked better, but I could help too.  Fresh, sweet, tart cherries meant cherry pie.  What a treat!

Turkey wins the title of the world's largest cherry producing country.  However, you don't need to travel to Turkey to experience cherry picking.  The United States ranks as the second highest producer with Washington, California, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Michigan as top sweet cherry producing states.  We chose to find a u-pick cherry farm in Wisconsin.  We visited Hyline Orchards in Fish Creek, Wisconsin (Door County).  Nothing too fancy.  You enter the shop, pay for an empty bucket, and begin picking.

Turkey celebrates cherry agriculture with festivals.  The traditional and well known Polonezkoy festival includes concerts and folk dancing in June.  In the US, many festivals also occur in June and your family can celebrate the harvest and try cherry food items.  I'll list a few options, beginning with Traverse City, Michigan because the city calls itself the "Cherry Capital of the World":

1.  National Cherry Festival; Traverse City, Michigan, June/July
Many competitions including turtle race, cherry pie eating contest, diaper derby, cherry pit contest, sand sculpture contest, art competition, and shuffleboard tournament.  Kids may like the cherry teddy bear tea and chalk art.  Everyone will learn at the orchard tour.

2.  Jacksonport Historical Society Annual Cherry Fest; Jacksonport, WI
Kids will enjoy the penny hunt on the beach, face painting, and horse drawn wagon rides.  Indulge your sweet tooth by purchasing cherry kolaches at the bakery booth.

3.  Leona Valley Cherry Parade and Festival; Leona, CA; June
Many choices because over 20 u-pick cherry orchards within driving distance.  Plus enjoy live music, pie eating contest, and crafts.

4.  Whitehouse Cherry Fest; Whitehouse, OH, June
Entertain friends and family at the carnival rides and 5 min. helicopter rides for $35

5.  Emmett Cherry Festival; Emmett, Idaho, June
Active event including fireman hose competition, softball tourney, and run/walk.  Also visit the train show and parade.  Free admission and free contest entry.

6.  Polson Main Street Flathead Cherry Festival; Polson, Montana
Buy from Montana Made Item vendors and listen to the steel drum band.  Traditional events including pit-spitting and pie eating contests.

7.  Paonia Cherry Days Festival; Paonia, CO
Interesting contests including coal shoveling contest and hula contest.  Get moving at the American Legion dance and Zumba event.  Treat yourself at the ice cream social.  Event also includes Church in the Park and Library Book Sale.

Agriculture Lesson #4: North Carolina Zoo Bee Exhibit & 7 National Pollinator Events

  Bees serve us in so many ways, most importantly as a pollinators of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  The world has other pollinators, but bees perform about eighty percent of all pollination worldwide.  Bees also produce honey from the sugary secretions of the plants, aka floral nectar.

When I toured the Google headquarters and ate lunch on a picnic bench, I noticed they had their own beehives for fresh honey - impressive!  In exploring the Fairmont Edmonton, Canada patio grounds, I delighted in the inclusion of beehives.  You don't need a special invite to a corporate headquarters or luxury hotel in Canada to show your kids beehives.

The United States is a major honey producer, ranked third after China and Turkey.  If you search events, you can likely connect your child to a local beekeeper who manages hives of domesticated bees.  Also, I like to look for bee products at farmers markets such as honeycombs or flavored wax honey sticks.  The kids love to taste sweet honey.

My family took time to explore bee hives and educational materials at the North Carolina Zoo located 75 miles west of Raleigh, NC in Asheboro, North Carolina.  Entry costs approximately $15 for adults and $11 for children.  We also watched a live hive at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.  Admission is a suggested $7 for adults and $4 for children.  If you can't visit an exhibit or museum, go the to the KU Natural History Museum website for a link to the live bee cam.  Kansas designated the honeybee as the official state insect.

Unfortunately pesticides, air pollution, habitat destruction, and drought contribute to bees dying.  According to Greenpeace, worldwide bee colony collapse occurs as winter losses exceed the norm - especially in the United States.  Europe has placed more restrictions on pesticides.  You and your family can celebrate and support bees by joining events during National Pollinator Week in June.  Visit the website pollinator.org for updated events.  Here's 7 examples of past events across the country:  

1.  Bees & Brew at the Botanical Conservatory; Fort Wayne, IN

Suit up for a beekeeping experience with live beehives, sample raw honey, make DIY beeswax candles at the Foellinger-Freeman Botanical Conservatory

2.  Bee Bee Q; Detroit, MI

Fundraiser with silent and live auction, live music

3.  Wild! Heritage Pollinator Party: Huntington, WV

Make your own pollinator plant pot out of recycled materials at the Heritage Farm Museum and Village, see a colony of bees

Couldn't resist the costume.  He's so sweet, he's my Honey!

4.  BeeFest; Salt Lake City, UT

Enter your kids in the kids pollinator costume contest.  Event entrance free and you can support by buying plants or honey-baked items.

5.  Meadowbrook BeeBlitz; Urbana, IL

Train on how to photograph bees and upload photos to Bee Spotter, meet at the Garden Pavilion 

6.  Bugs & Brews; Denton, NE

Take an evening walk through the prairie and enjoy refreshments and presentation by biologist working with farmers and conservation groups

7.  Meet Our Beekeper; The Episcopal Church of the Advocate; Chapel Hill, NC

Watch Piedmont Patch beekeeper demonstrate the equipment at the hive besides pond where volunteers planted over 1,000 native grasses and wildflowers

She's my Honey too!

Agriculture Lesson #3: 5 Cool Pumpkin Sites to Visit

Pumpkins, just the thought of these orange colored gourd-like squash takes you back to childhood.  Create a fall tradition with your child to pick pumpkins in the field and learn about agriculture at the same time. 

You can inspire their love for reading by reading about pumpkins.  One year I read the story Backyard Giants by Susan Warren outloud to my kids, a couple chapters at a time, following the adventures of Ron and Dick Wallace.  It not only teaches about giant pumpkins, but also lessons about the importance of setting a goal and values of determination and sharing knowledge with others.  It was published in 2007.  When we heard Ron & Dick broke the world record growing a 2,009 pound giant pumpkin in 2012, we cheered for them. 

Our family enjoys the tradition of visiting a pumpkin patch and then carving a pumpkin to use as a Halloween decoration. Get ready for messy fun. Getting out the seed is just part of the reward. You can roast them in the oven as a treat. These seed are good for kids, theyhave protein, magnesium, copper, and zinc. Kids just love the bite sized crunch.

I took this photo at Barn N Bunk farm in Trenton, OH.  We've found many of such large farms offer fun family entertainment.  We've enjoyed hay rides and corn mazes.  I've learned that the Midwest is central to pumpkins with 95% of pumpkins intended for processing grown in Illinois.  Here's 4 key places to discover pumpkins with your family:

1.  Art and Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay, CA - 42 year tradition, world champion pumpkin weigh off, parade, pumpkin sculptures, crafts, so many events, there's an app for it http://www.miramarevents.com/pumpkinfest/about_show.html

2.  Vala's Pumpkin Patch, Gretna, Nebraska (NE) - $13.29 per person admission, even sells seasons passes which makes sense when you see their entertainment schedule- stunt dog show, 4-H day, dance show, Scarecrow band, monster dash run, pig races, and s'mores at the fire http://www.valaspumpkinpatch.com/

3. Papa's Pumpkin Patch, Bismark, North Dakota (ND) attracts 50,000 visitors per year, enjoying bale mazes and a crib sandbox or buying pumpkin cookies and pumpkin pie, mid Sept. to late Oct.
https://papaspumpkinpatch.wordpress.com/

4. Morton Pumpkin Festival, Morton, Illinois (IL) home of Libby's canned pumpkin where 80% of the world's pumpkin is processed, pumpkin idol, recipe challenge, tennis tournament http://www.mortonpumpkinfestival.org/

5.  Cox Farms, Centreville, Virginia (VA) - 40 year tradition, watch for their Nov. Pumpkin Madness event where you can recycle your used pumpkin for some smashing fun http://www.coxfarms.com/fallfestival.aspx

Agriculture Lesson #2: 7 Blueberry Events

Blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie...mmm, kids love blueberries.  Kids are curious about fruit.  Do they grow on trees or bushes?  Help your kids learn about how blueberries are grown by taking them to a pick your own farm or a blueberry festival. 

Break out the US map.  The blueberry gets recognized as the official fruit of Maine.  Maine produces 25% of all lowbush blueberries and requires about 50,000 beehives for pollination.  Michigan leads in highbush berry production, accounting for 32% of the small berries.

For your best pick-your-own experience, begin early while energy is high and before the hot sun beats down.  Bring your sunscreen, sunglasses, water bottle, and coolers to bring home the treasured fresh berries.  We always pick extra.  My employees showed appreciation when I brought them berries to the office.

We've also celebrated the blueberry harvest at the Marshall Blueberry Festival.  It's been named a "Top 100 Event" in North America by the American Bus Association in 1997, 1999, and 2007.  Many of the blueberry festivals include kid pleasing foods like blueberry pancakes.  If you feel like burning the calories, many of these festivals also have a variety of sports events.  The Marshall Blueberry Festival includes a 5K run, arm wrestling, volleyball, and softball.

Here's 7 festivals in the United States:

1.  Marshall Blueberry Festival, Plymouth, IN, Aug. 30- Sept. 2 2013; 45+ year old festival with parade, auto show, music, and 300+ craft vendors  http://www.blueberryfestival.org/pg/history.html

2.  Paradise Annual Wild Blueberry Festival, Paradise, Michigan (MI), Aug. 16-18 2013, bring your blue clothes, a bucket, and enjoy http://www.paradisemichigan.org/bb/blueberryfest.html

3.  Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, Machias, Maine, 1.5 hours from Bar Harbor, 38th annual festival, Aug. 16-18 2013, a church project with music, parade, contest, free admission  http://www.machiasblueberry.com/

4.  Texas Blueberry Festival, Nacogdoches, Texas (TX), 23rd annual, June 8 2013, free admission, blueberry picking at Blueberry Place, motorcycle show, car show, competitions, 100+ vendors  http://www.texasblueberryfestival.com/

5.  Blueberry Jubilee, Poplarville, Mississippi (MS), cooking contest, pageant, auto show, dog show, 5K run...go to the site just to show your kids the animated berry (-:  http://blueberryjubilee.org/

4.  Reed Valley Orchard Blueberry Jubilee and Pancake Day, Paris, Kentucky (KY); Sat. June 29, 2013 horse drawn wagon, fruit pies, slushies  http://www.reedvalleyorchard.com/Jubilee.htm

5.  Wellborn Blueberry Festival, Wellborn, FL, June 7-8 2013, free admission, blueberry pancake breakfast $5, parade, talent contest, 5K run  http://www.wellborncommunityassociation.com/Pages/BlueberryFestival.aspx

Agriculture Lesson #1: Tulip Time in Holland, MI & 11 More Flower Events

Oh Volksparade, the sound of wooden shoes on pavement

The costumes in a row, the friendly waves and smiles

Oh, how the tulips bloom in never ending rows

The wooden shoe factory still operates

How I want a pair, but don't need one

Why not celebrate what you grow? May you also experience the delightful Holland Michigan with it's Tulip Time Festival in May. Rated as the "Best Small Town Festival" by Reader's Digest"; 2009 marked the 80th Anniversary. 

My family also celebrated flowers by traveling to the Lilac Festival in Mackinac Island, MI.  Here's 11 other flower festivals to attend:

1. North Carolina Azalea Festival
Wilmington, NC, April, circus, garden tour with Southern Belles

2.  Azalea Festival
Muskogee, OK, April, chili cook-off and BBQ contest

3.  Azalea & Spring Flower Trail
Tyler, TX, historic home tours in the Azalea City 

4.  Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival
Waimea, The Big Island Hawaii, Feb, taiko drumming, Japanese tea ceremony

5.  National Cherry Blossom Festival
Washington D.C., kimono fashion show, sushi

6.  International Cherry Blossom Festival
Macon, CA, March, "IFEA World Festival & Event" city award

7. Lilac Festival
Rochester, NY; 5K family fun run, wine and farmer's market

8.  Daffodil Festival
Tacoma & Puyallup, WA; crowns 24 daffodil princesses, watch the parade

9.  Daffodil Festival
Meriden, CT, bands, boxing, and Little Miss Daffodil

10.  Bluebonnet Festival
Chappell Hill, TX; arts and crafts and southern cooking

11.  Biltmore Festival of Flowers
Asheville, NC, April/May, it's a day trip from the Smoky Mountains, if you are looking for a cabin rental, check out our cabins Lightning Bug Lodge and Indigo Moon Lodge