15th Annual Michigan Lavender Fest

If you're a local reader, you might be interested in knowing that today is the first day of the 15th Annual Michigan Lavender Fest in Armada, MI.   It's being held at Blake's Orchard on Armada Center Rd. from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. July 14, 15, and 16th.  Admission is $7 per person.

After a few days of rain in our area, Mother Nature cooperated to give the festival beautiful sunny, 80 degree weather, with an occasional breeze.  I am blessed with a wonderful friend who will go with me just about anywhere.  This was our second lavender festival to attend. We went in 2015, but somehow missed last year's.  

We chose today thinking it would be a lot less crowded than the weekend, but it was very crowded. Senior groups came in buses, and when we arrived at 11:00 a.m. the entrance line was super long. Fortunately it moved quickly and was very organized.  The festival has definitely increased in size since 2015, and there are a lot more vendors.  The photo below shows a tiny section of the entrance line.

 ~ Paying for admittance and getting the 'bracelet' for re-entrance. ~

The name of the booth below was "The Tea Boutique" so that made it worthy of being photographed! ;-)  There really wasn't anything inside pertaining to tea, except articles of clothing that could be worn to a tea party.  My girlfriend, Lori, bought a pretty black skirt from the vendor.

We got a good pierogi at the booth below in 2015, so decided to get one again this year.

Frying them fresh on-sight.

We found a picnic table in the shade to enjoy our potato-cheddar pierogi.  Um...Um...Good!

There was a loose-leaf tea booth at the festival this year called The Teatroiter.  The owner was Kristen Pfeifer, from Dearborn, MI.  She's a therapist, and her company is three years old.  I purchased a package of 'Motor City Mango' - a green tea blend with mango, orange, apple, rosehip, hibiscus petals, and elderberries.   I like the creative name of her company.  

~ Kristen ~

I know the vendor at the booth below, so took a picture of her hand-embroidered tea towels.

We couldn't leave the festival without getting a glass of Lavender Lemonade.  The back of the tee-shirt of the girl dispensing the lemonade was so cute I had to photograph it.  It reads: "You cannot buy happiness but you can buy lavender and that is kind of the same thing!"

Glass of refreshing Lavender Lemonade!

That concludes my pictures for this year's lavender festival.  I highly recommend going if you live locally.   It's a very enjoyable event.