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HerbDay
2008 is less than a month away, but there is still plenty of time for herb enthusiasts and others to find a way to be
part of the celebration. Plans are afoot on both the national and local levels
for all sorts
of events, including an event in Austin
organized by the American Botanical
Council (ABC).
The
HerbDay Web site (www.herbday.org) has
been redesigned and new events are being posted on a regular basis. To date,
there is a national event at the US Botanic Garden in Washington, DC with numerous
speakers and demonstrations by the Herb Society of America, the International
Herb Association, Tai Sophia Institute and Aveda; a display of herb-related
materials at the Detroit Public Library; and diverse celebrations in Oregon,
Wisconsin, New Mexico, Missouri, Ohio, Nevada and Minnesota. The HerbDay Web site
encourages participants to post an event of their own or
find events to attend.
Everyone
in the Central Texas area is invited to visit ABC
between 10:00AM and 4:00PM on Saturday, October 11 for its second onsite HerbDay
event. Admission is free.
ABC’s
HerbDay Austin includes interesting educational opportunities. ABC Founder and Executive
Director Mark
Blumenthal will update listeners on what’s new in the herbal research
and regulatory arenas, and Will Morris, President of the Academy
of Oriental Medicine at Austin, will discuss
traditional Chinese medicine and introduce attendees to some of the plants in
the ABC/AOMA Oriental Medicine Garden.
Nicole Telkes, herbalist, founder,
and instructor at the Wildflower
School of Botanical Medicine, will present two demonstrations: “Proper Herb
Harvesting Techniques” and “Weedy Infused Oils: Chickweed, Chinaberry and Other
Central Texas Weeds.” Leading herb walks through ABC’s many medicinal themed
gardens will be Austin
herbalists Ginger Webb, Ellen Zimmermann, and Carlos Hernandez.
In
addition to speakers, demonstrations and herb walks, local blues/rock band
Hammerdog will play; ABC will sell books and give away seeds and copies of its
quarterly journal HerbalGram; and
various local herbal product vendors
will display and sell their wares. Teas will be sampled and bottled water and
snacks will be provided. ABC is located in an historic 150-year-old east Austin homestead at 6200 Manor Road. Parking on Walnut Hills Drive, Betty Cook Drivet and Jack Cook Drive is available and both gates to ABC’s 2.5 acre headquarters will be open. A Map to ABC is available here. For updates to the schedule, view ABC’s
HerbDay calendar listing. |