(September 8, 2006) — HerbDay, a new national event, will be celebrated all across the nation on Saturday, October 14, or during the weeks before and after that date. Retail stores, schools, farms and botanical gardens, and public parks are hosting a wide range of activities and site-specific events, including lectures and workshops, book signings and talks by renowned authors, guided plant identification walks with experienced botanists familiar with regional habitats, in-store demonstrations, seasonal herbal handcrafts, in-store product demonstrations, children’s activities, and more.
 
The HerbDay website, http://www.herbday.org/, lists these events, and more are being added on an ongoing basis. For example, Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, a 24-store chain in Colorado and New Mexico, recently agreed to honor HerbDay in their stores, joining other major health stores GNC, Great Earth Vitamins, Vitamin Shoppe, Vitamin World, Whole Foods Market, several independent co-operative grocery stores, and smaller shops.
 
The HerbDay website also has several educational documents available for downloading to inform the general public about the many uses and benefits of herbs, as well as efforts to protect the species that are so useful to maintain and improve health, add flair and flavor to our foods, and bring beauty to our gardens and landscapes. The educational documents cover herb safety, frequently-asked-questions, interpreting product labels, legal and regulatory issues, information on several common herbs, how to ensure the future of various species in the wild, and more.
 
The HerbDay Coalition recently recognized two new HerbDay Partners. Bastyr University, of Kenmore, WA, and Tai Sophia Institute, of Laurel, MD, have been highly supportive of the event, not only planning to celebrate HerbDay at their campuses but also supporting a keynote event scheduled for Oct. 13 and 14 at the U.S. Botanic Garden on the National Mall in Washington, DC. An events schedule for this keynote HerbDay event is online at: http://www.herbday.org/Portals/0/pdf/USBG.pdf.
 
Five national nonprofit organizations are working together as the HerbDay Coalition to launch this event — American Botanical Council, American Herbalists Guild, American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, American Herbal Products Association, and United Plant Savers. More information about HerbDay activities and resources, and event registration forms are available at: http://www.herbday.org.

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