Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, Herbs Etc. to host events; Broad support expressed by industry media; Local AHG chapters to participate

(April 26, 2006) —HerbDay 2006 is six months away and numerous sponsors and participants are already planning an exciting array of events to celebrate herbs and herbalism at sites all across America. Reports of events and offers to become involved are pouring in as people and companies register at the event’s website: www.herbday.org.

Several retailers, large and small, will participate as HerbDay hosts, either on HerbDay itself (October 14) or on the days just before and after. For example, the GNC chain is planning a variety of store-based activities and special offers to honor the day, and The Vitamin Shoppe will hold events in all of its 280 stores to highlight the value of herbs. Herbs Etc. will host HerbDay activities in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, store and community.

Beyond the retailer arena, the San Diego Herb Club and that city’s chapter of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG) are joining together to plan an informational fair in Balboa Park, including tours of the newly expanded “Trees for Health” medicinal tree grove and garden. In Ben Lomond, California, the East-West School of Herbology will also participate. Further east, Herbalists Without Borders (based in State College, PA) will host an “HerbalSlam” — a poetry contest on the theme of “all things herbal.” And the HerbDay Coalition will produce a multi-day event at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC with support from staff and students from Tai Sophia Institute, based in Columbia, MD, and the DC chapter of the AHG.

The herb industry media have also expressed support for HerbDay as several “Media Sponsors” have signed on to promote the event to their readers. Ads and editorials will be running in each of these magazines well in advance of the event and up to their October issues, including: Health Supplement Retailer, Remedies, Vitamin Retailer, and Whole Foods Magazine. In addition, Taste for Life will publish a special edition in October that includes a 24-page pullout section with carefully researched articles by respected herbalists. As with all special Taste for Life editions, Herb Day 2006 will also be a stand-alone publication with a lengthy shelf time in natural products chains, health food stores, and herb shops nationwide, offering leading manufacturers an excellent opportunity to support consumer education through advertisements.

The entire herbal community is invited to participate actively in HerbDay 2006, either by hosting an event or providing sponsorship in the form of financial support. Now is the time to start developing ideas for local HerbDay activities to ensure that every community celebrates the wonders of herbs. Visit www.herbday.org to review the initial menu of ideas that the HerbDay Coalition has developed, and to register to tell others what you are planning to do to join the herbal celebration. The website will be the primary location to organize and disseminate information about HerbDay activities and resources.

HerbDay is a coordinated series of public educational events celebrating the importance of herbs and herbalism through harmonized, independently planned activities that will occur on October 14, 2006, and/or during the days leading up to and following that date. Activities will occur at retail stores, botanical gardens, and parks throughout North America. HerbDay activities will be designed by each hosting venue, which will have broad latitude in selecting its own events, such as lectures and workshops by well-known herbalists; herb walks; in-store cooking demonstrations featuring herbs and spices; seasonal herbal handcrafts; in-store herbal beauty product demonstrations; presentations by herb company representatives; activities with herbal themes for children; etc.

Five national nonprofit organizations— American Botanical Council (ABC); American Herbalists Guild (AHG); American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP); American Herbal Products Association (AHPA); and United Plant Savers (UpS) — are working together as the HerbDay Coalition to launch this event.

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