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Festival History
The Pend Oreille Valley Lavender Festival began in 2004 as a grass roots endeavor to involve the community in economic development and tourism promotion for our county. The original sponsors WSU/ Pend Oreille County Extension and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians worked with volunteers from the community and other business sponsors to develop a spectacular artisan event when the lavender is in full bloom on the Pend Oreille River.
The original Festival site was a portion of the 259 acre Conner homestead now under the ownership of Jerry and Wendy Kapelke. The grounds were lushly landscaped with myriad mature specimens of flora both indigenous and unique to the area. Thousands of lavender plants were in full bloom during the Festival and many different varieties of lavender were displayed. The glory of the fragrance and color, enhanced by the haunting melodies provided by talented, professional musicians, made this a remarkable open-air market experience. The Festival also offered an introduction to new regional artists and provided garden tours, craft demos, children's activities and great food.
In 2008, the Festival relocated to The Park at First and Calispel in Newport, Washington. With over 3000 visitors and 60 vendors in 2007, we needed to move to a site with easier access and room to expand.
The 2008 event was even better. With blooming lavender plants arranged throughout the park in Tuscan garden setting, visitors were able to enjoy over 60 food and craft vendors, music and entertainment, craft demonstrations, children's activities. We added wine tasting for the first time. In addition to the musicians who have been part of previous festivals, actors performed excerpts from the most popular productions in the area this year including scenes from Howard's Follies.
Poster Artists - Pend Oreille Valley Lavender Festival
While no one has difficulty imagining a robust relationship between gardeners and farmers with rural life, the artist-rural connection is less evident. Fortunately, events like the Lavender Festival make that too often hidden bond, very explicit. Our Lavender Festival artists have found their inspiration in the vivid, rich natural world of the Pend Oreille Valley. What sustains our community inspires our artists, and they teach us to see. Lavender Festival artists, like so many of the local volunteers who promote this festival with pride, have unique and inspiring stories to share.
Clare E. Clark 2004 Poster
Clare's creativity was nourished early on by the writers, musicians, and artists in her family. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of California Fullerton, Clare settled in Newport, Washington, doing freelance design while she and her husband built their dream home on the Pend Oreille River. Surrounded by such natural beauty, she soon focused solely on painting and teaching the medium of watercolor.
The influence of her two children led Clare to believe that everyone should have the opportunity to recognize his or her creativity. One of her greatest joys is the work she does in the ArtScape after-school program and with students in the schools of Pend Oreille County through the Arts Consortium Project.
Clare is a past member of the Spokane Watercolor Society.
Kate Drum 2005 & 2007 Posters
Kate manages to bring viewers of her posters to the deep, riverside beauty of the Inland Empire lavender experience. This is a decidedly Western United States rural event and Kate manages a singular kind of Inland Pacific Northwest expression. She lives in wooded Pend Oreille County where daily excursions into the natural environs around her home of 26 years inspire her acrylic and pastel paintings.
"I walk the mountain daily rain, snow, or shine taking in the beauty of its surrounds: the lake, beaver pond, creek, mossy rocks and ferns, distant views, forests of old growth ponderosa, larch, fir, hemlock, cedar, maple, birch, cottonwood, aspen. And the wildlife bear, cougar, bobcat, moose, elk, deer, beaver, weasel, bald eagle, osprey, and blue heron. The woods provide all the line, color, pattern and texture I could ask for."
Nancy J. Knight 2006 Poster
"Kindergarten and Crayons" is where Nancy Knight, a native of the Phoenix, Arizona area, first discovered her love for creating art. Over the years she has worked with acrylics, graphite, colored pencil, pen and ink, and a bit of printmaking. She now is enjoying the experience of painting with watercolor.
After graduating from Palomar College in San Marcos, California, Nancy moved to Oklahoma where she instructed classes in the photo realistic "pencil rendering" technique at South Eastern Oklahoma State College.
Nancy had a show of her watercolor painting at the Kirtland Cutter Gallery in Metaline Falls, Washington, and at Interplayers in Spokane in the Spring of 2007. She has participated in group shows at CREATE in Newport, and was sponsored by the Spokane Watercolor Society. Nancy lives near Newport, Washington with her husband.
"There is much in this world that is wonderful and beautiful. My desire is to preserve a moment in time. I am happiest when I am using my talent to create images for others to enjoy."
Gloria de los Santos 2008 Poster
Gloria has worked as a professional artist, graphic designer and photographer and is a developer of new methods for visual expression. Currently her work is represented in the Art at Work program at the Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane.
Gloria attended the School of the Art Institute, Chicago, and received a B.A. in Communications Design from University of Illinois. She has lived and worked as an artist in such diverse locations as Bermuda, Chicago, London, and Los Angeles. Her filmography special effects credits include Titanic, Hollowman, Star Trek Insurrection and Mists of Avalon. Currently, she is the arts coordinator for the Orient/Inchelium/Valley Arts Consortium funded through a WSAC grant. She has served as the volunteer Director for the Colville Arts Foundation since 2002. Her web site is www.gloriadelossantos.com
Fabian Napolski - 2009 Poster
http://artbyfabian.net/
The 2009 watercolor depicting Lavender growing against a backdrop of the Pend Oreille River captures the mood of the festival and the region. This years artist lives in Spokane.
"My art focuses upon scenes in the Pacific Northwest, reflecting the longing I have for the quiet solitude found in nature. Many of my paintings were inspired while kayaking, fishing, or camping in the wilds of Alaska. My art explores the various moods of nature. My art searches for simplicity in an otherwise complex world. My use of color washes with loose brushstrokes and soft edges is designed to evoke feelings of harmony and serenity. Where our world seems to draw us into a frenzied existence, my paintings seek to communicate that there is an alternative, and that it is within the reach of those who choose to look."
Autumn Oscarson - 2010 Poster
www.PriestLakeImages.com
Autumn's Loft, 28392 Hwy 57, Priest Lake, Idaho
Using the adobe suite program I was able to blend three images taken at the Newport City Park of the Pend Oreille Lavender Festival last July 2009. I shot each of these images mid-day with a Canon 30D Digital EOS in large format, using a Sigma Zoom Wide Angle Telephoto 28-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Lens. I try to shoot in manual whenever possible.
The lavender fairy perched in her hut was run through a series of artistic filters to give a more whimsical look to the photograph. The colorful singer also had her background airbrushed and an artistic filter applied. These were then super-imposed onto the large lavender bucket image and font layered ontop. As for the festival logo, using Photoshop, I was able to turn the black font into a more appropriate lavender color. The festival association approved of image placement, format, font style and text before going to print. I really enjoy layout and design as well as capturing that initial shot of the beauty around us. It all works together to create an enjoyable presentation!
After design college in Los Angeles and city livin' in Long Beach & Seattle, I've always returned to our Selkirk Mountain area (like many of us do) and have spent a few great years running The Old Northern Inn Bed & Breakfast in Coolin, which grew my love for the Priest Lake area and attached me to it's great history. Now I live full time in the area, selling my art & photography and enjoying the nature I grew up in. I hope you enjoy seeing our land and community through my eyes.