Festival showcasing all things lavender
Lavender pizza anyone? How about lavender cheesecake?
Those are just two of the culinary treats that will be on the menu at the eighth annual Niagara Lavender Festival at Niagara Essential Oils & Blends in Niagara-on-the-Lake Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s definitely grown every year,” said Melissa Achal, one half of the husband-and-wife team that runs the festival at the farm. “We have cooking demonstrations, pick your own lavender.”
But lavender pizza?
“There’s no limitations to its uses,” Achal said.
There will also be lavender ice cream and lavender lemonade to sample.
“There’s so much yummy stuff.”
There will be more than 100 vendors on site over the two days, and the Achals will be offering guests a chance to tour the farm and see how the couple make their lavender oil. Visitors will also have a chance to purchase 10-millilitre vials of oil with the proceeds from sales going to Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Catharines and Thorold.
“They’re sold as the Niagara charity oil,” Achal said.
There are two types of passes available for the festival. The island hopper pass is $5 and includes admission, field tours, demonstrations and culinary treats. The world traveller pass is $20 includes the same items as the island hopper but with samplings of a wider variety of culinary treats. World traveller passes are limited in number and have been sold out for Saturday but more than 300 are available for July 8.
Hours of operation for the festival are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Niagara Essential Oils & Blends is at 758 Niagara Stone Rd.