Fox Farm Lavender Festival Speakers & Activities
Bees 101
Sunday at 11:30, Orchard Speaker
Sunday at 2:30, Orchard Speaker
An introduction to basics about bees and honey presented by avid beekeeper Thane “The Bee Guy” Lewis. The key to the success of many gardens is healthy bees... and there can be the added bonus of honey too! The response to Thanes first presentation at Fox Farm in 2008 was overwhelming so we have scheduled two sessions to help meet demand for this interesting topic and very entertaining speaker!
Beginning Watercolor Painting
Saturday at 2:30, Orchard Speaker
Postcard size painting skills for the beginner as you learn both a dry and wet technique under the guidance of artist, Kathy Whitman. Students can test techniques and explore the medium in a free quick introductory class, limited to 10 participants.
Cleaning Green with Essential Oils
Sunday at 1:30, Orchard Speaker
Lavender Essential Oil & its Many Uses
Saturday at 3:30 at Lavender Lecture
Michelle Thibert utilizes essential oils in environmentally friendly home use applications. She shares her professional knowledge and love of lavender and other plants.
Cooking with Lavender
Sunday 10:30, Lavender Speaker
Sunday 11:00, Lavender Speaker
Sunday 3:30, Lavender Speaker
Caterer and food enthusiast, Lorelle Shearer will cook up fabulous lavender dishes, share some of her special recipes and let you taste her creations. Come early, her classes are always full. She is a regular presenter at Fox Farm, and is once again back by popular demand with three sessions over the weekend.
Tips for garden photography
Saturday 4:00, Orchard Speaker
With a little basic knowledge you can greatly improve your garden photography and your photographs in general. Whether you have a small point-and-shoot camera or fancy SLR, the principles are the same, and with a few tips and a little practice, you may be amazed at how professional your photos look. Chris Shuman will show you some examples but bring your camera, this is a hands-on workshop.
Going Green on a Budget in Your Home & Garden
Saturday 2:00 at Lavender Lecture
Tom Watson presents fun, low-cost ideas for gardeners on saving green (money) while going green (environmental health). He is an engaging speaker who brings humor and technical knowledge that can be easily applied in your everyday living.
Grow Your Own Lavender
Saturday 11:30, Orchard Speaker
Sunday 4:00, Orchard Speaker
If you have always wanted to grow your own lavender, join Cindy Johnson as she presents the basis of planting, growing, pruning and harvesting lavender in a concise presention with plenty of time to answer your questions.
Herban Feast & Fresh Bistro Cooking Demonstration
Sunday at 2:00, Lavender Speaker
BJ Duft combined his passion for cooking, event planning and herb gardening to create garden fresh meals. His Fox Farm menu presentation includes Lavender Gelato, Lavender Grilled Salmon & Chicken Skewers with Herbs de Provence Dipping Sauce.
How to design & plant containers using drought tolerant plants
Saturday 12:30, Lavender Speaker
Watch Karen Chapman build two separate lush containers right in front of you, using drought tolerant plants, and teaching you the tips as she goes. The containers will be offered for sale at the end of the demo.
Lavender Lotions & Potions
Sunday 12:30, Lavender Speaker
Use fresh and dried lavender buds to infuse and create beauty and skin products. From lotions to healing balm, lavender mist to foot scrubs… create a lavender spa from your garden. Find out what other herbs to grow that enhance the qualities of lavender in recipes and all the ingredients to create natural products without preservatives. Join Sue Goetz, for a fragrant show and tell learning session, plus recipes to take home and try.
Performers at Fox Farm Lavender
Guitarist, Joan Enguita
Saturday 11:30 Fun creative music for children of all ages. A hands-on performance with Joan and her signing partner, Trish Lester… very participatory with shakers and other music makers!
Saturday 1:00 Acoustic Guitar Entertainment
Musical Duo of Chris and Jyl Leininger – Guitar and vocals
Saturday 2:30
Saturday 4:00
Chris and Jyl Leininger have been performing acoustic jazz in their kitchen for many years. Performing during a six-week stay in Italy in 2007, they wowed B&B hosts and agritourismo guests alike with Chris’s nifty Martin travel guitar and Jyl’s angelic singing. Their renditions of jazz standards and classic pop music will bring tears to your eyes and smile to your lavender-kissed lips.
Close-up Magician Benjamin Magic
Saturday 1:00 to 4:00
Everyone always remembers a great magic trick. Benjamin Hampton presents close- up, mind-blowing magic for every occasion. His unbelievable effects along with his unique style are a hit with audiences at any event.
Harpist Music by Leslie McMichaels. She performs lifting music midst the lavender plants
Sunday 11:30
Quartet Quatro Brio plays Joplin rag, tangos, fiddle music, and a couple of classical things. They play for fun on a monthly basis, making sure we always have dinner and dessert to go along with music and good conversation. Their non-musical professions are writer, financial advisor, corporate financial officer, and physician.
Sunday 1:30
Sunday 3:30
Speaker & Performer Bios
Lorelle Shearer, experienced caterer and a ‘cook’s cook’, has booked many hours working with lavender flavor combinations, and has created some stunning ones! She has created so many that she now has published her favorites in the Fox Farm Lavender Cookbook available at the Farm Tour. Whether it is her ‘Nectarine and Red Onion Salad with Lavender’ or her incredibly popular Lavender Lemon Shortbread Cookies (we sell out every year at the farm tour!), you will enjoy her spectacular and unusual recipes!
Lorelle’s cooking demos during the Lavender Farm Tour are very popular…come early and watch her cook up some very special treats, and then enjoy tastes!
Born in England, Karen Chapman grew up with an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the wonders of gardening. After moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1996 she joined Molbaks as a garden plant specialist and discovered the joy of designing container gardens. Helping hundreds of customers create beautiful combinations of plants to enhance their outdoor living spaces was a delight, so she established Le Jardinet, a custom container garden design service. Karen is a regular speaker at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, nurseries and garden clubs. She has appeared on Komo 4 and King 5 TV, bantered with Ciscoe Morris many times on his radio broadcast and her work has been featured in Fine Gardening magazine. www.lejardinetdesigns.com
B.J. Duft founded Herban Feast Catering, and now Fresh Bistro Restaurant. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the food service industry, and leads the company’s commitment to excellent customer service and delicious food, using locally grown, farm-fresh ingredients. His vibrant involvement in the community, reputation as a relationship-builder, and dedicated support for other area businesses make him an asset to the industry. BJ is a graduate of the WSU Hospitality Management program.
With a magical voice warm enough to melt a glacier, Joan Enguita is an accomplished singer/songwriter who distills her life experiences into melodies and lyrics in the modern folk tradition”—Dan Kimpel, Music Connection Magazine. Songs from her first CD, “Two Suitcases,” have aired nationally and in several European countries. She tours the U.S. West Coast as well as in Europe. XM radio featured her in a one hour interview and live performance on The Village station. www.joanenguita.com
Sue Goetz is owner of Creative Gardener and author of “In Love with Lavender” which is filled with traditional uses, history, growing information and much more. www.thecreativegardener.com
Benjamin “Magic” Hampton has performed all over the Northwest and Germany, from children's birthday parties to the most prestigious corporate events.
Fox Farm is owned and gardened by Cynthia Johnson, a retired Family Doctor and keen gardener. In addition to lavender, she loves growing and propagating perennials of all sorts (the more unusual the better!), growing cut flowers and fruit trees and talking with other gardeners and lavender fans! Take a look at www.FoxFarm.org
An award-winning singer/songwriter from California, Trish Lester cooks up truly fresh Americana music from the wisdom of life experience, often spicing it with satire or humor. Her songs leave a lasting impression on young and old alike, with crystal clear lyrics and unforgettable melodies. The title track on Trish’s CD, “Plymouth Belvedere,” was recently featured on National Public Radio, and her tribute to our troops, “Thank a Soldier,” plays on three patriotic Websites and in a New York airport. www.TrishLester.com
Leslie McMichael (www.pluckmusic.com) feels lucky to be doing what she loves for a living. A graduate of Wellesley College, her musical pursuits include performance, teaching, recording, and composition. Leslie's versatility takes her from touring with silent film performances to playing for local weddings. She is past president and vice president of the Seattle Chapter of the American Harp Society, past president of the Suzuki Association of Washington State. She lives on Vashon Island in a purple house with her wonderful husband and five wonderful cats.
Chris Shuman is an avid photographer and teacher. She taught photography at Bothell High School for 9 years and just recently retired. This last year has been spent traveling to six countries taking more than 6000 photos.
Michele Thibert is a Licensed Massage Practitioner, Aromatherapist, Australian Bush Flower Essence Practitioner, Educator and Product Formulater. Her love for the plant world started at a young age, helping grandparents and parents in the vegetable and flower gardens. She studied Horticulture in high school and college, thus bringing her love for plants into her healing arts practice. Michelle is owner of Soul Scents & Bodywork in Enumclaw, WA. She also contracts on a part time basis with Multicare/Good Samartian Home health and Hospice as an Aromatherapist and Massage Practitioner. michellethibertlmp@hotmail.com
Tom Watson works for King County doing public education about environmental issues. As part of that job, he writes the "EcoConsumer" column for the Seattle Times and also makes regular appearances on TV and radio in Seattle. Tom has been with King County since 1992. He also has a gardening background, working in nurseries, and presenting at the 2008 Northwest Flower & Garden Show.
In addition to being the Event Planner extraordinaire for Fox Farm’s Lavender Farm Tour (and the head of aquatics for Seattle Parks and Recreation), Kathy Whitman also is an accomplished journal and water color artist, her specialty being post card size renditions of whatever lovely scenes she might be sitting near. If you’ve ever thought, even briefly, about trying water color, here is a free one hour ‘watch and do’ session, in a lovely garden!
We are a group of painters, who enjoy painting together "en plein air", which loosely means painting outdoors in natural light. We embrace the challenge of capturing the essence of the scene in the fleeting moments in time before the light changes significantly. We are all studio painters as well, but are enriched by the experience of studying how light behaves in nature, which benefits us when we return to our studios for more involved larger paintings. Lavender is my favorite subject to paint outdoors. In our beautifully green Northwest, we so appreciate the addition of rich warm purples, red violets and blues of the lavender, a veritable potpourri of complementary colors. Add to that the surprise of dancing yellow and green umbrellas and you have a plein air painter's feast!
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