A
t the Herbal Affair and Festival,” said Grant Gerondale, the Community Development Director of the City of Sand Springs, “you can find heirloom tomatoes and native plants that you can’t just get on aisle seven of Home Depot.”
“The Herbal Affair and Festival is not all about tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, though,” said Grant. The show is also known for its arts and crafts collections and diverse food options. This year, more than 100 vendors will participate in the event, including a Missouribased bonsai artist, stained glass designers, Founded in 1989 by Sand Springs resident and makers who weave wicker baskets and Ruth Leib, the Herbal Affair and Festival create sculptures with metal. started as a small street sale that attracted around 800 visitors. Today, the Herbal Affair Grant encourages attendees to come and Festival, Oklahoma’s largest outdoor hungry, too, since there will be plenty of unique celebration of herbs and gardening, boasts food options, including traditional Indian tacos, more than 25,000 attendees, which is larger German bratwursts, and chicken and noodles than the entire population of Sand Springs. from an Amish family out of Rogers County. The event has certainly grown! There will be around a dozen food vendors for visitors to choose from. Per tradition, the According to Grant, who has operated the Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts will have a canoe event for 16 years, there are some guests who filled to the brim with ice-cold root beers and have attended for the last ten to twenty years, cream sodas for sale to help raise money for eagerly marking their calendars each year for their organization. the next event. 20 WeAreSandSprings.com | March 2020
