Herbfest 2011 – Coming in May

Story by Lindsey Chester, photo by Marcia Hansen.

Cary, NC- Last year, the Friends of Page-Walker created a new festival in downtown Cary – Herbfest.

My daughter Emma and I attended and she was thrilled to take home a seedling that grew into a large basil plant. The festival is returning on the weekend of May 7 and has expanded to include live performances and demonstrations along with the herbs and gifts for sale.

Shopping, Butterflies and Learning  All About Herbs

In addition to touring the Garden, festival-goers on Saturday May 7 can watch herb cooking demonstrations and stroll through booths selling a wide variety of herbs, crafts and garden products.  Vendors will be well-represented on the grounds including:

• Chatham Street Café
• Garden Supply Company
• The Glassy Ladies
• Great Harvest Bread Company
• J & M Garden Art
• Herb Society of Wake County
• Home Tweet Home
• Humbug Farm
• Limits Keep Pottery
• The Meat House
• Suzanne Tilton (the Butterfly Lady)
• Whole Foods Market of Cary

Each vendor will be offering items related to gardening, herbs, native plants, perennials, nature and cooking.  Lunch will be available for purchase.

Live Butterfly Release

Delight the kids with hands-on activities organized by the Cary Teen Council or time your visit for the live butterfly releases at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm on May 7. The kids can be busy while you shop for Mother’s Day gifts (Editor’s Note: or Father’s Day gifts), or additions for your garden.

Special Thursday Night Cooking Demo

The Friends of Page-Walker have expanded Herbfest to include a special cooking demonstration on Thursday night , May 5 at 7  pm.

Award-winning Chef Lucindy Willis of Yancey House Restaurant will cook and discuss culinary uses of herbs. Guests can sample  scrumptious recipes, accompanied by specially selected wines, at an informal reception following the program. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online .

Proceeds from this event will benefit the Friends’ ongoing historic preservation, educational and archival efforts.

Herbfest Street Theater

Another new twist to the festival is a performance by Burning Coal Theatre Company.

Their imaginative new theatrical production “A Walk through the Pages of History” will be a promenade performance around historic downtown Cary, starting at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center.

Along the way, audiences will encounter ten scenes from Cary’s history, performed in the places they actually happened.  It’s avant garde street theater with a community spin, right here in downtown Cary, NC.

A Walk through the Pages of History

Friday & Saturday May 6 & 7 — 6:30 / 6:50 / 7:10 p.m.
Sunday May 8 — 2:00 / 2:20 / 2:40 p.m.

Performances start at Page-Walker

Tickets
$15 for adults
$10 for children 12 and under, seniors 55+, and active military with proper ID
Tickets can be purchased by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or at the Herb Young Community Center, Monday-Friday 12-6 p.m.

HerbFest Details

Saturday, May 7, 2011
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Page-Walker Arts & History Center
119 Ambassador Loop

Chef Lucindy Willis on Thursday night. Burning Coal Theatre performances Fri-Sun.