Sequim: Lavender Festival brings ninth season to close2005-07-18by JIM CASEY Peninsula Daily News SEQUIM, WA-- Lavender shmavender. Why do people have such a purple passion for what, in the final analysis, is just a plant? If you asked any of the estimated 25,000 people who crowded the Sequim Lavender Festival street fair and overran its seven lavender farms, you got fast and emphatic answers. ``It's pretty to look at. Good-smellin' too,'' said Roger Records of Kent, making his second purple pilgrimage. ``It's the wonderful fragrance,'' said Irma Colvin at the Lavender booth. ``It's soothing.'' Dede Momany of Poulsbo said purple is her favorite color, and she loves lavender's smell. ``It's flowers,'' said Ernie Bourg of Seattle who with his wife Elizabeth rode on a bus back to the street fair from Angel Farm. ``We love flowers. We come to get some and take it back home and plant it.'' ``It's a romantic idea,'' said Sandra Lundgren of Seattle. ``It goes back to the Middle Ages. They used it for a lot of things.'' The scene Sunday was one of straw hats and sandals and suntan lotion for a larger-than-expected crowd who almost made up for attendance that was curtailed by Friday's rainy weather. ``The farms are packed,'' said Scott Nagle, festival director. ``They're going to way exceed last year. ``We've got fewer people, but they're more dedicated festival-goers.'' Nagle said total attendance would probably be about 5,000 fewer people than last year but that patrons came from all across the nation and from 51 foreign countries. |