Lentil Festival vendor sign up opens

The Year of the Pulse is heating up, winter wheat is starting to spring up across the Palouse and preparations are underway for the 2016 Lentil Festival season.

Applications went live Tuesday for the 28th annual Lentil Festival. Those applications include spots for vendors and recipe entrants for the Legendary Lentil Cook-off sponsored by the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council.

According to a press release issued by Alexandria Anderson, festival director, opportunities for vendors include food vendor, marketplace vendor and non-profit night vendor. The vendor spaces for non-profit night vendors cost $70 and are only available for the Friday night of the festival. Vendor spaces will be sold as two-day spaces, with overnight security provided. Booth dimensions are 10x10. Anderson told the Gazette that the cost for marketplace vendors is $135 and for food vendors is $175.

The Legendary Lentil Cook-off is also slated to return, and prizes will be awarded for first place ($2,000), second place ($1,000), third place ($500) and People's Choice Award. The requirements for the competition are for the dish to include at least one cup of cooked lentils or half a cup of uncooked lentils or half a cup of lentil flour. The recipe is also limited to 15 ingredients.

Anderson said she is excited for the upcoming festival.

“We're in that busy season getting ready,” she said. “I can't believe it's here already.”

Anderson said that everyone can “expect all your festival favorites” and that the organizers are working hard to keep all the favorites and ramp them up. She also said the Lentil Festival will have Year of the Pulse themes.

“There will be little hints of it here and there,” she said. Anderson specifically mentioned that the Lentil Festival poster, to be unveiled June 2, will have Year of the Pulse themes. Additionally, the Lentil Festival made it onto the official International Year of the Pulse events calendar.

Anderson said the cooking demonstrations, which have been a part of the festival since 2013 and are a “major favorite,” will have “a couple different types of pulses, not just lentils” this year.

All of the events, such as the 3-on-3 Hoop Classic, the Tase T. Lentil 5K Fun Run sponsored by Snap Fitness, Tour de Lentil Bike Ride and Tase T. Lentil Miniature Golf Tournament will return. Anderson said that she is hoping this year provides better weather for the festival, as last year was bogged down by smoke from nearby wildfires and the previous year was filled with rain. The smoke last year caused the Tour de Lentil Bike Ride to be cancelled.

“We're hoping for better weather,” she said. “We want clear and sunny skies.”

The Lentil Festival will be held in Pullman Aug. 19-20 at Reaney Park and in the Spring Street Park and parking lot.