Orrville's Lavender Fest continues to grow

While the rest of the area and country gear up for the Fourth of July and all that goes with it, things will kick off a bit early in the area with the Lavender Trails 2025 season, now known as Lavender Fest, which will begin June 27.

Jim and Amy Duxbury once again have nearly everything lavender on hand for those who enjoy the soft purplish hue. Since starting seven years ago, the Duxburys have become the area’s lavender experts, growing the flowering sage plants in a former concrete dumping ground.

During the month of activity, visitors to Lavender Trails can take in more than 2,000 lavender plants, tour the farm, take pictures, go on a pollinator walk and, if so inclined, donate to the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Ohio, which the Duxburys are again supporting.

Also known as Vendor Sundays, the Trails’ two biggest events will take place June 29 and July 13. Each will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is free for those attending from 9-10 a.m., with $5 the rest of the day.

“The very first year we had a dozen vendors; this year we have about 25 vendors,” Amy Duxbury said.

Highlights this year include the Upscale Variety food truck and Barnyard Brew coffee trailer. Visitors will have plenty of choices for breakfast or lunch including lavender drinks.

“We keep looking for different food vendors that seem to fit,” Amy Duxbury said.

One change this year is construction of the Rails to Trails development connecting Orrville and Clinton. That will include a parking area near Lavender Trails.

It also will mean a lot more people will walk and/or bike by the Duxburys’ lavender field, which Amy Duxbury said could either help or hinder business.

“I’m loving the Rails to Trails,” she said. “I’m assuming people are going to be respectful and know that the only way we can keep working is if people pay admission. I’m hoping that this will bring more people to us.”

Visitors to Lavender Fest also can see a new butterfly enclosure, which includes monarch caterpillars, among other pollinators.

Along with the food trucks and butterflies, people attending can visit local artisans and listen to music, along with a variety of other things. Attendees also can shop at the new outdoor store.

Juried vendors will offer handcrafted items.

Interested vendors should visit www.lavendertrails.com/pages/vendors.

Lavender lovers will see a variety of bundles, culinary products, personal care products and lavender plants for sale at the field. Those include anything from honey and syrup to essential oils, lotions and lip balms and can only be bought at the field during the season.

Through the peak lavender season, which lasts roughly a month from June 27 through July 20, people may attend a U-Pick Lavender Session Mondays through Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursdays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5.

Lavender Trails is located at 360 Collins Blvd. in Orrville just east of Main Street on the north end of town. For more information email Lavender Trails at lavtrails@gmail.com.