A Quick Visit to the 2024 NYC Lavender Festival
Yesterday morning, my family and I were able to hop on the ferry to attend this year’s Lavender Festival on Governor’s Island. The environmental group, Earth Matter, maintains the Lavender Field on the island. This field is the only lavender field within New York City and our second visit to the festival (read about last year in this post).
Catching the Ferry
Pro tip about the weekend ferry: the first ferry ride on Saturday/Sunday mornings is free to Governor’s Island! Reserve your ticket online in advance in case of crowds. The return ride to Manhattan or Brooklyn is always free. Otherwise, it’s currently $5 per ticket.
We caught the first ferry just after 10am and about 5 minutes later, we were on the island! The ferry from lower Manhattan docks about a 9 minute walk from the lavender field. The ferry from Brooklyn is only a few minutes from the field.
We made our way to the field, took a look, and then wondered around a little before the festival started at 11am.
Lavender Festival
Despite the slight drizzle, walking through the lavender field was super relaxing—even with a mobile toddler! The main paths through the small field are lined with shells, keeping the mud at bay. Luckily, the dirt paths between the rows of plants weren’t muddy either (I was wearing my nicer work shoes for the afternoon!).
I managed to snag the last ticket in advance to pick a lavender bouquet that morning. The “Pick Your Own Lavender” event tickets were sold in half hour time slots, starting at 11am and continuing through mid-afternoon. The lavender ready for picking was the Munstead Lavender—a type of English Lavender with a sweet smell and nice purple blooms.
The volunteers gave instructions on how to pick the lavender—just the stems, not the woody stalk (otherwise the plant won’t grow back). We also had to pick our plant carefully, as they did not want us to pick from multiple lavender plants in case of transmitting any disease between plants. However, if you ask a volunteer nicely, they may disinfect your clippers with alcohol and allow you to change plants.
My husband and toddler were allowed to accompany me as I picked a lavender bouquet. My toddler helped hold the bouquet! And special shout-out to the kind volunteer who managed to capture a cute family action shot!
After the allotted 20 minutes of picking time, the volunteers wrapped the bouquet in newspaper and gave instructions for drying it at home.
If you did not want to pick lavender yourself, Earth Matter did have lavender bouquets, sachets, and scent for sale. And they had their distillation show set up this year again as well.
They also have wreath making and pot painting workshops during the festival, although I have not taken part in them yet. Maybe next year!
Other Activities on the Island
After I finished with the lavender picking, I had to head to work for the afternoon and therefore caught a ferry to Manhattan. However, my husband and toddler were able to walk around the island. They looked around and found a playground slide appropriate for our toddler—there’s a really nice playground for older children too!!
There’s also a historic fort, a theatre, arts center, slightly-pricey restaurants (I’d recommend bringing your own food), open fields, amongst other activities. Check out event listings for special activities.
Overall, a weekend trip to Governor’s Island is a great break from the rush of city life without needing a car or train tickets. Bring a loaded picnic basket, a ball, and some good walking shoes. And lavender lovers—the lavender will continue blooming through July, so be sure to take in the the sights and [nice] smells of NYC’s only lavender field!
