American Botanical Council Will Celebrate 9th Annual
HerbDay in Austin on May 3

Festivities to Include Herb Walks, Herb Talks, Children’s Activities, and More

Editor's Note: This press release has been updated to reflect a change in the HerbDay schedule of events.

(AUSTIN, Texas, April 4, 2014) On Saturday, May 3rd, the American Botanical Council (ABC) will celebrate the 9th Annual HerbDay with a variety of fun herb-centered activities suitable for the entire family. There will be presentations from distinguished herbal experts including Feather Jones, founder of the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies and twice past president of the American Herbalists Guild, and Mark Blumenthal, ABC’s founder and executive director.

ABC’s HerbDay activities will commence at 10 am and continue until 4 pm. HerbDay will be held at ABC’s headquarters, the historic 2.5-acre Case Mill Homestead, at 6200 Manor Road in Austin. The celebration is free and open to the public.

Participants will be able to join in two herbalist-led tours of many of the interesting and rarely seen herbs found in ABC’s expansive 20+ medicinal- and culinary-themed gardens. The first herb walk will start at 10:30 am and will be led by Ellen Zimmermann, founder and director of the Austin School of Herbal Studies and EZ Herbs. Ginger Webb, founder and director of the Sacred Journey School of Herbal Wisdom and Texas Medicinals, will lead the second herb walk at 1:15 pm. Each herb walk will last approximately 45 minutes and will give guests the chance to see the herbs growing as well as learn their medicinal uses.

The day’s first herb talk, beginning at noon, will be led by Jones, a clinical herbalist who also founded Sedona Tea Blends and Canyon Spirit Botanical Ventures. For more than 30 years, she has provided her clients and students with a synergistic approach to health and healing through her career in teaching, clinical practice, and mindful wildcrafting coupled with a background in First Nation (Mandan) tribal teachings. Jones’s talk will focus on herbal support for hay fever and allergy season. Blumenthal will begin speaking at 2:30 pm on “Humorous Health: Medicine, Drugs, Diet, Alternative Medicine, & Lifestyle as Seen through Newspaper Cartoons.”

In addition to the herb walks and herb talks, participants will have plenty of time to explore ABC’s 20+ medicinal and culinary herb gardens on their own. ABC also will hold a plant sale throughout the day. Buying plants from ABC is a great way for HerbDay visitors to add to — or possibly start — their own gardens while supporting ABC’s essential nonprofit educational mission.

Children’s activities will take place throughout the day. There will be a maypole dance — always fun for young and old alike — and a planting station for kids to create their own garden projects from seeds or starter plants.

Refreshments, books, and membership information will be available in addition to free sample issues of ABC’s highly acclaimed, quarterly, peer-reviewed scientific journal, HerbalGram, and other educational literature. ABC's HerbDay celebration is made possible, in part, by the generous sponsorship of People's RX and Whole Foods Market.

A printable flyer listing all of ABC's HerbDay activities can be found here.

About HerbDay

HerbDay is a coordinated series of independently produced public educational events celebrating the importance of herbs and herbalism. HerbDay was initiated by five nonprofit organizations with interests in herbs and herbalism (the HerbDay Coalition) to raise public awareness about the significance of herbs in the lives of millions of people worldwide, as well as the many ways herbs can be used safely and creatively for health, beauty care, and culinary enjoyment. The HerbDay Coalition includes the American Botanical Council (ABC), American Herbalists Guild (AHG), American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP), American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), and United Plant Savers (UpS). The HerbDay coalition can be contacted here.