Herbfest: Not as boring as it sounds

The Butterfly Princess becomes a clown

Last season on one of the Food Network's competitions the contestants were tasked with naming their own cooking shows. A chef named Herb came up with the incredibly creative moniker HerbTV. You could tell by the judges' faces that the second he said it he was GONE.

Cut to the Town of Cary's annual Herbfest on the grounds of the historic Page-Walker Hotel. We were accidental visitors last year and had a great time, so this year I attempted to round up a group of friends for a field trip. No luck. Most reactions were along the lines of Herbfest? Is that as boring as it sounds? 

The town needs to add a tag line to reflect that you don't just stand around admiring lavender and thyme. There are booths showcasing and selling nature photography, wool skeins, old-timey crafts, plants, natural foods, birdhouses and goat soap (that's soap from goat's milk, not soap to wash the goats living in your garage).

Or the town could just mention that the Great Harvest Bread Company gives away free samples of its blueberry-lemon bread.

There is just as much for the kids as for the adults. My three walked out with flowerpots decorated for Mother's Day and dinosaurs and flowers painted on their cheeks by members of the Cary Teen Council. Vincent finally saw inside his beloved smokehouse (see the Smokehouse Birdhouse post) and while he was disappointed that there wasn't meat hanging from the nails, he did see a drying cotton plant for the first time.

Sometimes holding a butterfly sounds better in theory

The best part, according to the kids, was the Butterfly Lady. She was in a corner booth surrounded by... wait for it... butterflies. And caterpillars, and eggs, and little tiny squiggles crawling around plastic containers that were freshly-hatched caterpillars. And she didn't mind one bit when 18-month-old Dominic pile-drived her mesh butterfly house full of monarchs. In fact, she asked if Catherine would help her release the butterflies by dressing up as one.

Fulfilling a lifelong desire to morph into a butterfly princess, Catherine uttered a breathless YES. A few minutes later, the crowd gathered around the Butterfly Lady for the release and Catherine bounced up to the crowd's front, awaiting her moment of fame. Catherine pranced around when the Butterfly Lady strapped wings on her back. Then the Butterfly Lady explained how well butterflies can hear and took giant ears out of her bag. The Butterfly Princess looked rather nonplussed as she added the over-sized ears to her couture. Then the Butterfly Lady covered Catherine's feet in pink felt (I forget why, as I was too busy snickering at the Butterfly Princess' quick transformation into a clown) and plopped antennae on her head. By the time the goofy giant yellow sunglasses made an appearance Catherine wanted to quit. But she suffered through the indignity and even took a bow for the crowd, and then removed her extra appendages much more quickly than she ever manages to remove her clothes at bedtime.

Dominic contemplating the smokehouse

At the release, the monarchs fluttered around, landing on arms and feet and heads. Dominic did his best to bat them out of the air, and Vincent patiently held out his finger and called, "Here, butterflies, land on me"-- and then promptly screamed when one did.

So seriously, Cary, add a tag line. Families need to know that Herbfest is a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. Something like... 

Hey, I've got one. Herbfest: Not as boring as it sounds.