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Rosemary,
basil, lavender, oregano and thyme will
perfume the air Friday, Saturday and
Sunday when Bob Johnson welcomes a host
of visitors to downtown Wake Forest for
the eighth HerbFest.
You will find Johnson in the
gazebo parking lot on South White
Street, watering the plants and helping
people choose from the many varieties of
herbs, perennial plants and other garden
delights.
This year the herbs will be
in biodegradable rice hull pots that
will decompose in the compost pile, and
the plants will all be from local
growers, assuring that they will perform
well in this area.
“We are determined not to
run out of basil this year,” Johnson,
the HerbFest founder, said. In fact,
there will be nearly double the amount
of perennial plants and a greater
selection of herbs this year.
There will also be
independent vendors selling garden
sculpture, herbal soaps and lotions,
herbal food products and other items
that will appeal to gardeners and
homeowners.
The entertainment this year
will again include the daily “Duck
Parade” at 10:30 each morning. A
trumpeter will call the ducks from their
crate to walk the carpet to their
temporary home, a pen with a baby pool.
The ducks, of course, are expected to
fully cooperate with this program.
Friday night there will be
an open acoustic mike at the gazebo.
Saturday morning the
Franklin Academy Jazz Band will perform,
and there will be a theatrical
performance at 1 p.m. that day.
This year’s HerbFest will
raise funds for the Graham Johnson
Cultural Arts Endowment the Johnson
family began last year after the death
of their son, Graham. The focus of the
fun is to enrich the education of local
students through cultural arts
opportunities.
Many of Graham’s classmates
from Franklin Academy will volunteer at
HerbFest again this year.
HerbFest will be open rain
or shine. The hours Friday and Saturday,
April 20 and 21, will be 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. Saturday, April 22, the hours will
be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This is a free event open to
everyone. |
