The National Lentil Festival Puts Pullman, WA in the Limelight

Every city in America has something to celebrate.  Here in Pullman, WA, it's lentils.

Lens culinaris. Latin for "edible lens" (or "tasty lens" perhaps?). It's a member of the legume or pulse family (beans, peas, garbanzos), prized for its flavor and health benefits. And it just so happens that our little corner of paradise is the lentil-producing capital of America.  Woo-hoo!

So, for the past 23 years we've celebrated our leguminous niche in mid-August with a weekend event, The National Lentil Festival.

The festival gets underway on Friday night, with free lentil chili, prepared earlier in the day and served from a huge cauldron holding hundreds of gallons of the spicy stuff.

Business and civic leaders, our county sheriff, mayor, and other local celebs volunteer to serve chili to the hungry masses.
This year, there'll be enough to feed 8000 people, according to the Pullman Chamber of Commerce.  Still, the pot will empty well before the evening ends. The crowds gathered around the free chili area belie the buzz of activity taking place throughout the downtown area.  Several intersections are blocked to vehicular traffic, creating a central pedestrian-friendly zone filled with food booths, street vendors offering arts and crafts, and numerous commercial booths (including candidates' booths in an election year).

The Friday Night Street Fair features live music and dancing in the streets, appealing equally to students and permanent residents alike. A festive party atmosphere reigns supreme throughout the area.  I believe our little festival rivals anything, anywhere, when it comes to bringing a community together.

Pullman, WA is a college town, the home of Washington State University (and The University of Idaho is just 8 miles up the road).  Classes commence on Monday following the Lentil Festival, so it's a great opportunity to relax before the school year officially gets underway.  The celebratory weekend provides a terrific opportunity for town and gown to interact in an upbeat and friendly manner on neutral ground.  
 
For instance, some of the athletic teams have tables set up to meet and greet festival-goers, pass out posters and team schedules, and (in the case of our attractive volleyball team) have their pictures taken.

On Saturday, the Lentil Festival Parade lasts for at least an hour, with scores of floats, bands, and organizations taking part.  The highlight (for me, anyway) is the WSU Cougars Marching Band, one of the top collegiate marching bands in the nation.  Their massive wall of sound is always a thrill.  Whatever else they may play, the Cougar Fight Song and Washington's unofficial state song, "Louie, Louie," are staples.

After the parade, the crowd mills over to Reaney Park, Pullman's oldest park, where the remainder of the day is filled with live music, microbrew tasting, samples of lentil dishes (including the award-winning recipes, if one gets there quickly enough), arts and crafts booths, sporting events (including 3-on-3 hoops and boards and blades skating competition).  There's so much to see and do, I haven't even scratched the surface.  Suffice it to say, the National Lentil Festival means tons of fun for young and old alike.

I have the pleasure of working with Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson in producing the radio spots for the NLF. Glenn is a former TV anchorman, now an esteemed professor of broadcast (whose students occupy front-of-camera seats in TV news departments in cities across America) and, just for fun, he's the stadium announcer for all WSU home football games.  Oh, did I mention he also is our mayor? Yeah, he's just a little busy.

A few years back, sitting in my home studio and feeling a little silly, I wrote a jingle about the lentil and its festival in Pullman, featuring the voice of the Lentil Festival's mascot, Tase T. Lentil.  (Well, it became "his" voice after a little digital manipulation.  Does he sound just a little like an alien Dolly Parton to you?)

That's me with my man Tase in the photo below.

So, for all who may be joining us this year, welcome to our party in Pullman: the 2011 National Lentil Festival. It's gonna be a real hoot.

P.S.  Even National Geographic magazine thinks so!