Calling all fun seekers! The Lampasas County Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce the 14th annual Herb & Art Festival to be held on October 11, 2008. The Herb & Art Festival will be a fabulous day filled with interesting vendor booths selling a wide selection of herb and art related goodies, food, and informative speakers from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Again this year, the festival will have a special children's area called "Kids Thyme." It will include moonwalks, face painting, along with demonstrations on recycling and composting with free handouts and seed packets. There will be pumpkins and cookies for the children to decorate and enter in the "best dressed" pumpkin and cookie contest. Children will be invited to gather in front of the bandstand to go "digging in a haystack" for prizes and treats. The Kiddie Express Train will be on hand to add some extra fun and entertainment.

The Keystone Square Museum is located on Western Street and will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. They will be hosting the annual Little Wrangler Round-up at 9:00 a.m. For more information, call the Keystone Museum at 512/556-2224.

The featured Bandstand speakers are as follows:

9:00 a.m. - Lawn and Garden Nemesis & How to Deal with Them - Lampasas County Extension Agent

10:00 a.m. - Sweeties: 4 Herbal Delights to Make for the Table & Body - Rowena Fengel

11:00 a.m. - Natural Remedies for Pain Management - Shari Anderson Kilman, Clinical Herbalist - As a Clinical Herbalist, Shari enjoys sharing the history of herbal medicine, applying ages old and respected plant remedies to a wide array of health challenges.

12:00 p.m. - Herbal Cooking with Wildtree Herbs - Leah Crawford, Wildtree Herbs Independent Consultant - Wildtree Herbs is a company dedicated to the promise that food should be natural, nutritious, delicious, and easy to prepare, all at the same time. The products are made with the finest ingredients available and contain no preservatives, additives, MSGs, dyes or artificial flavors.

1:00 p.m. - Herbs 101: Back to the Basics - Judy Barrett - publisher of Homegrown Magazine - This magazine features both timely and timeless information for Texas gardeners. Homegrown shows how to garden successfully and enjoyably while having a positive impact on the environment. Good sense organic gardening for Texas!

2:00 p.m. - "Contain Yourself" - Growing Herbs & Vegetables in Containers - Randa Daude, owner of Oma's Garten Pflanzen - A unique plant nursery in Killeen, Texas dedicated to organic gardening. Randa is a master gardener with vast experience.

3:00 p.m. - "Old Thyme" Remedies from your Kitchen & Garden - Shari Anderson Kilman, Clinical Herbalist - Shari is the owner of Omni Star Farm in Boerne, Texas. The farm is dedicated to the cultivation, study, and teaching of herbal healing.

4:00 p.m. - Organized Chaos - directed by D'Ann Willis

The festival will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 11, 2008, on the Courtyard Square in historic downtown Lampasas. Many food and beverage vendors, as well as local restaurants, will be on hand for hungry visitors. With a variety of arts and crafts, herbs, Texas native plants, antique roses, herbal foods, demonstrations, gardening items, grasses, seminars, musical performance, children's activities and much more, the Lampasas Herb & Art Festival offers something for everyone.

Whether you're an herb enthusiast or looking to spend an enjoyable day outdoors with family and friends, come out to shop, learn, eat, or simply enjoy a beautiful Lampasas day.

For more information regarding the 2008 Herb & Art Festival, please contact the Lampasas County Chamber of Commerce at 512/556-5172, or toll free at 1-866-556-5172, or email:

lampasaschamber@sbcglobal.net or visit the website at www.lampasaschamber.org.