A Blooming Success: The 2025 Olalla Lavender Festival Brings Community, Culture, and Joy Together

The 2025 Olalla Lavender Festival truly lived up to its name, a weekend that bloomed with connection, creativity, and community spirit.

Held July 19–20, the festival welcomed more than 3,500 ticket holders, more than doubling attendance from the previous year. Visitors came for the lavender, but stayed for the joy: live music, shared meals, meaningful conversations, and countless small moments that made the weekend feel special.

At its heart, the festival is about more than flowers. It’s about people coming together — and this year, that spirit was felt everywhere.

Exploring the Lavender Trail: 9 Unique Gathering Places

One of the festival’s most beloved features is the Lavender Trail, inviting visitors to explore nine Gathering Places across Olalla, each with its own personality and offerings — from lavender fields and artisan markets to food, music, and family activities.

The 2025 Gathering Places included:

• Olalla Grange (Main Hub),

• Crescent Valley Lavender Farm,

• Astrid’s Lavender Farm,

• Ooh La La Lavender Farm,

• Olalla Vineyard & Winery,

• Olalla Bay Market,

• Farmhouse Woodworking,

• Red Roof Ranch,

• and Spin Cider.

Together, they formed a welcoming trail that encouraged exploration, discovery, and lingering conversations.

The Heart of the Festival: The Olalla Grange

As the festival’s main hub, the Olalla Grange once again embodied its long-standing mission of strengthening rural communities through agriculture, education, and service.

Throughout the weekend, the Grange grounds came alive with two signature spaces that became natural gathering points for festival-goers. The Lavender Plaza offered a welcoming place to pause, meet friends, enjoy music, and soak in the festival atmosphere, while the Meadow Market showcased a vibrant mix of local artisans, makers, and small businesses, inviting visitors to browse, connect, and support local creativity.

This year, the presence of Miss Agriculture USA – Kitsap County added a special dimension, highlighting the importance of farming and agricultural heritage while inspiring younger generations to connect with the land and their community.

Hundreds of Wishes Take Flight

A new and deeply moving addition to the festival this year was the Lavender Wishing Tree.

Throughout the weekend, visitors tied hundreds of colorful ribbons to its branches, each carrying a handwritten wish — messages of hope, love, healing, gratitude, and kindness.

“The wishes reflected hope, love, and kindness. It was beautiful to see so many people pausing to share something so personal,”— Huguette Marsicano, Festival Organizer

By Sunday afternoon, the tree had become one of the most photographed and talked-about features of the festival.

Live Music at the Grange: A Soundtrack of Joy

Music filled the air at the Olalla Grange all weekend long, turning the lawn into a true gathering place. From bluesy harmonies to Celtic rhythms, each performance added to the festival’s warm, welcoming atmosphere.

The 2025 lineup featured:

• Dave Kern,

• The EverBlues,

• Sweet Mary Farr,

• Spencer Lendon,

• Studebaker,

• KC & the Sound,

• The Kitsap County Ramblers,

• The Foundlings,

• Cody Bartels,

• and Lukas Music, all carefully selected to reflect the festival’s spirit of joy and connection.

Olalla × Provence: Lavender Love Knows No Borders

This year also marked an exciting new chapter for the festival with the launch of international sister-festival relationships in Provence, France.

Visitors discovered Olalla’s connections to

• L’Instant Lavande in Grasse, and

• La Fête de la Lavande in Valensole.

Festival-goers enjoyed learning about Provence’s lavender traditions and even had the opportunity to sign up for a future trip to experience the magic firsthand, a cultural bridge that many found both unexpected and inspiring.

Celebrating Local Creativity & Community Spirit

From hands-on workshops and artisan vendors to flavorful food stops and family-friendly experiences like the Community Canvas, the weekend beautifully showcased local talent, creativity, and Olalla’s strong sense of togetherness.

Every detail, large and small, reflected the festival’s guiding value: community first.

Olalla’s Summer Fun Continues

While the Lavender Festival has come to a close, Olalla’s summer celebrations are far from over.

• West Sound Crime Con takes place August 1–3, featuring author talks, true-crime stories, and meet-and-greets, including author Gregg Olsen.

• EB Daniels Organic Farm and Olalla Vineyard & Winery will also participate in the upcoming Kitsap Farm Tour, inviting visitors to experience the region’s rich agricultural life.

Until Next Year…

As the last lavender stems were gathered and the music faded, one feeling remained strong: gratitude.

Thank you to everyone who came, helped

, performed, created, hosted, and shared in the magic of the 2025 Olalla Lavender Festival. We can’t wait to welcome you back next summer, see you in 2026 for another weekend of lavender, joy, and community connection 💜

The Lavender Wishing Tree at the Olalla Lavender Festival