I should say a few words about the Genesee County Herb Society Spring Symposium

A week from tomorrow the Genesee County Herb Society will have our biannual Herb Symposium, "Cooking with WHAT? Herbs!" We still have a few tickets left, so I'll tell you about what to expect in case you are nearby and would like to attend.

Our guest speaker will be Donna Frawley of Frawley's Fine Herbary based in Midland, Michigan, who will give two presentations and who will during the day be selling a variety of her herbal products.

Donna's keynote talk, in the morning will be "Cooking with Herbs" and her shorter afternoon presentation will be "Herbal Breads."
I've personally been to one of her presentations for the local District meeting of the Federated Garden Clubs and she does a great presentation, complete with demonstrations while she talks and yummy samples. Donna sells herbal culinary mixes has authored cookbooks and now has gone high tech with videos.

When you come in the door you'll be given your name tag and a goody bag and be directed to find a seat at one of the beautifully decorated tables in the auditorium, but before the day starts you can shop at our marketplace and preview the silent auction. We have added a plant vendor from one of the local nurseries, 'His and Herbs', this year and asked to have a good supply of culinary herbs to coordinate with the theme of our program. The GCHS is a non-profit organization and our biannual Symposium is one of our major fund-raisers to support our educational programs so we encourage you to shop til you drop.

However, if you need sustenance we have one of the best morning tea buffets, homemade sweet and savory treats provided by our membership ... so before the program begins you should take time to choose a plate of goodies and a nice cuppa tea and get settled. By the way, the centerpieces will be offered for sale in the silent auction, so choose your favorite! Take a moment too, to look around at the springtime decorations and herbal educational display.

After a few official remarks and the Keynote talk by our speaker, we will break out into your choice of one of seven workshops that our members will be teaching.

The make-and-take classes this year are:
Dried Herbal Seasonings - Better Than Store-Bought (with recipe booklet)
Herbal Tea in a Decorated Jar (with recipe booklet)
Place Cards for your Tea Table
Post-It Note Holder Made with Pressed Flowers
Holiday Table Favors - 12 designs, make 3!
Herbal Meals in a Jar
Using Herbs for Medicinal Purposes and Cosmetics

A delicious Luncheon follows, and then we will enjoy a second presentation by our guest speaker. Donna has told me she'll have a bread machine going, to add the fragrance of her herbal bread to the air while we enjoy her talk.

At the end of the day, don't leave before picking up your auction purchases, and have a safe drive home!