Bastyr University 14th Annual Herb and Food Fair Will Focus on "Restoration of Body and Planet"

2011 Herb and Food Fair
Photo courtesy Bastyr University

Family-friendly event will include fun and educational activities for all ages

14th annual Bastyr University Herb and Food Fair puts the focus on global health this year with the theme "Restoration of Body and Planet." 

The free community event, which is part of the Seattle Science Festival of events, will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 2, 2012 and is expected to bring several thousand visitors to Bastyr University's 51-acre campus near the shores of Lake Washington. 

Among the highlights:

Festival Activities

• Cooking demonstrations, botanical medicine-making workshops and lectures with renowned natural health experts
• Live entertainment and music
• A variety of vendors selling healthy food, herbal products, organic plants, artwork and crafts
• Acupuncture demonstrations
• Special activities for children
• Guided garden and forest tours
• Relaxing herbal foot soaks and facials 

Keynote Speakers

Paul Stamets is an internationally renowned mycologist, author and speaker. He is the sole source supplier and co-investigator of the first two medicinal mushroom clinical studies in the United States funded by National Institutes of Health. His books, Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, and The Mushroom Cultivator, are used as textbooks around the world by the specialty and medicinal mushroom industries. Stamets is also an advisor to the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School, serves on the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms editorial board, and was appointed to the board of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia. 

 Jean Layton, ND, aka "the Gluten-Free Doctor," uses her analytical skills as a chef, doctor and author to address the challenge that "there has to be a better way." One way she fulfills that goal is through education: teaching baking and detox classes, and helping food companies understand how to keep gluten-free people safe. Dr. Layton has a naturopathic medicine practice Bellingham, Washington, and has co-authored the book Gluten-Free Baking for Dummies. Her talk is titled "Eliminate the Negatives: Clean out Your World and Thrive."

Heidi Bohan is an educator specializing in native plants and their uses, with a focus on Northwest Coast traditional knowledge and ethnobotany, traditional foods, medicinal plants, basketry, carving and weaving. She also designs and assists with native plant habitat gardens and restoration projects. She is the author of The People of Cascadia, Journey Plant Medicine Cards and the Starflower Native Plant ID Cards. She works as a full-time educator and consultant for the Snoqualmie Tribe, as well as Northwest Indian College, Bastyr University and her own "Gatherer to Gardener" programs.

Sacred Seeds Sanctuary Project

This year’s Herb and Food Fair is also where a new garden project will have its official kickoff. Bastyr University is honored to have been selected as the Pacific Northwest representative of the Sacred Seeds Sanctuary, an international effort to cultivate native plants, encourage seed saving and retain local ethnobotanical knowledge. We are the only sanctuary on the entire west coast and will be working closely with community representatives and local tribes to create a communal space in which to share the uses and importance of native plants.

Transportation and Parking

Attendees can park for free at the Kenmore Park and Ride (at 7346 N.E. Bothell Way) and take a free Bastyr shuttle directly to the event. The bus runs every 15 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Very limited parking will be available on campus for a $5 fee. Bastyr University is located at 14500 Juanita Drive N.E., Kenmore, adjacent to St. Edward State Park. No event parking is permitted at St. Edward State Park.

While the fair is free, donations are always welcome. Proceeds from the Herb and Food Fair benefit Bastyr University students by contributing to the University's garden improvements and providing funding to purchase supplies for its herb- and food-cultivating classes.

For more information about the 14th Herb and Food Fair, visit the Bastyr events page.

ABOUT BASTYR UNIVERSITY

Bastyr University, located north of Seattle, Washington, is an accredited institution, internationally recognized as a pioneer in natural medicine. As the largest university for natural health arts and sciences in the U.S., Bastyr offers more than 17 degree and certificate programs in fields such as naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and whole-food nutrition. Founded in 1978, the University now includes a leading-edge research facility (the Bastyr University Research Institute) and outstanding clinical training at Bastyr Center for Natural Health. The University’s second campus, Bastyr University California, will open in San Diego, California, in fall 2012, becoming the state’s first and only accredited school of naturopathic medicine.