As interest in tea has grown in the United States and Canada, the number of tea festivals and other tea gatherings has multiplied. There are active festivals in Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, and a host of other sites. As tea lovers reveled in the wealth of opportunities that had emerged, the sad announcement was made that after seven years of operating, the Victoria Tea Festival would no longer occur.
The news added a challenge for TeaTime Magazine which had developed a special event in conjunction with the festival called “An Occasion for Tea.”
TeaTime, under the direction of editor Lorna Reeves, chose not to cancel their event, however. Instead it has been expanded to a full weekend of activities and events for tea lovers.
From Friday, Feb. 7 to Sunday, Feb, 9, 2014, tea enthusiasts will gather at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia for three days of tea experiences. There will be afternoon tea in the Empress Tea Room, tea tastings, book signings, presentations, and a self-guided tea tour. The weekend’s presenters are Jane Pettigrew, James Norwood Pratt and Bruce Richardson. For more information, visit Tea Time Magazine or email [email protected]
Can’t make it to Victoria, but are interested in other tea festivals around the U.S. and Canada? Here’s a list of some options to consider as a vendor or an attendee:
February
Toronto Tea Festival – Feb. 1-2
March
San Francisco International Tea Festival – March (TBA)
Coffee & Tea Festival NYC – Mar. 22-23
May
Charleston Tea Plantation’s Annual First Flush Festival – May (TBA)
Kulov Tea Lovers Festival, Los Angeles – May (TBA)
World Tea Expo, Long Beach, Calif. – May 29-31
July/August
Rocky Mountain Tea Festival, Boulder, Colo. – July/August (TBA)
September
Los Angeles International Tea Festival – September (TBA)
Canada Coffee and Tea Show, Toronto – Sept. 28-29
October
Northwest Tea Festival, Seattle, Wash. – Oct. 4-5, 2014
Vancouver Tea Festival – November (TBA)
Coffee & Tea Festival Philly – Nov. 8-9
Ottawa Tea Festival – November (TBA)
Will you be attending any festivals this year? What do you find most useful about participating in these events?
One response to “Gathering for Tea: Festivals and Fun”
Sylvia and I went to World Tea East two years in a row to represent RateTea, when this expo was in Philly, and then this year I went to the very different Philadelphia Coffee and Tea Festival, just registering as an individual.
I’m not quite sure how many festivals I’m going to get to this year. To be honest, location is a big issue for me. It’s not just a question of how close it is, it’s a question of whether it’s a place that I want to go. I’d love to get to the main World Tea Expo, but Vegas and Long Beach are not places that are on my list of places I am itching to go. I could be very happy if I die without ever setting foot in either of the LA or Vegas metro areas. I even lived in San Diego for a few months and during that time, never got up to LA. On the other hand, I’ve been itching to explore the Pacific Northwest, and I am always looking for excuses to travel to the Midwest.