Rose gardens, perfumes and butterflies at the Russian Tea and Fragrance Festival
The famous Shakespeare quote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” holds true for the Russian Tea and Fragrance Festival coming this October, as the festival will feature an array of products such as sorbet, mist and tea, all infused with a wide variety of roses from the Russian River Rose Company.
The festival runs the weekend of Oct. 6 and 7 and will feature rose-made products and authentic Russian entertainment from Slavic vocalists and violinists, and with kid-friendly activities, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.
On Saturday, Gypsy violinist Joella Olson, will perform at 10 a.m. The Slavic singing group, “Gardina” will perform on Sunday at 12 and 2 p.m.
Jan Tolmasoff, owner of the Russian River Rose Company, says out of all of the events, the musicians are her favorite.
“My favorite part — it’s hard to say, (would have to be) the music and singing, it is joyous. They sing a capella and are in costume … it just gives me chills thinking about it,” Tolmasoff said. “I also love the butterflies in the gardens, both humans and butterflies love the experience.”
While the music and gardens may be some of the old favorites, new to this years festival is the display of over 30 different rose hips.
Rose hips, the seedpods of the rose flower, come in many different shapes and colors, making for a vibrant display.
Perhaps the most notable attraction of the event, will be the sampling of various aromatic rose products.
Rose water rose perfume and rose mist will all be available to try, as will the new “vintage” of the estate perfume.
“Every year we offer a different rose oil perfume, like a different vintage of wine. We have over 500 plants and petals, so every year the fragrance is different,” Tolmasoff said.
Event goers can also try a cup of Russian “Swee-tooch-nee” tea, a traditional black tea that blends sweet and strong flavors with Indian and Ceylon tea leaves.
Homemade rose sorbet, a favorite among kids, will also be served and there will be other family-friendly activities, such as a chance to explore the fairy garden.
“We have a child’s fairy garden where kids can come and look for fairies in the garden and have their picture taken. We are also going to make hand-cranked sorbet. The kids love to crank that machine — last year, they were all lined up (to give it a crank),” Tolmasoff said laughing.
Sorbet making will start at 3 p.m. and all festival activities will go on until 5 p.m. each day. Registration is not required for the event; however, a $5 donation is requested.
The doors open at 10 a.m. both days, 1685 Magnolia Dr., Healdsburg.
