Annual Herb Gathering held in Hot Springs

HOT SPRINGS- Hot Springs was the setting for the annual Montana Herb Gathering over the weekend. The festival drew vendors, teachers and attendees from around the country to participate in an event designed to celebrate and educate people about medicinal plants.

The event included classes, an herbal market place near the Alameda Resort and a “Botanical Ball” with live music and dancing. This was the first year the festival has taken place within a municipal location.

Events on Friday began with registration in the morning and classes in the afternoon. Aromatherapy educator Tim Blakley from Hawaii taught a class about the therapeutic use of plant-based oils. Blakley has taught classes about the use of medicinal plants and herbs for 30 years and has traveled the world researching the subject.

Susun Weed of Woodstock, New York began her class with a song urging the audience of about 30 students to join her. Weeds class was designed to teach students about natural alternatives in women’s health care.

Classes on Saturday included “How to Become a Master Herbalist in 30 Years” by Paul Bergner and “Introduction to Yoga” by Pam Quinn. Classes were followed by dinner with both vegan and “carnivore” options and the “Botanical Ball” with live music provided by Joanne Rand. Rand is a popular recording artist from California and has toured nationally for over 25 years.

Sunday classes covering the dangers of over-harvesting and avoiding endangered species coincided with a seminar about improving tissue functions with the aid of herbal remedies. Students were also treated to a class about the beneficial properties of naturally produced honey by Toyia Hatten.

While classes were underway at several venues around the Alameda Resort, vendors selling and trading a wide variety of naturally produced goods were set up in a city park across from the Towanda Campground. Products ranged from edible options such as honey, herbs and spices to medicinal oils and instructional books and videos.

Jennifer Quinn of Treasure State Honey from Fort Shaw, MT was in Hot Springs to sell her company’s products at the festival. Quinn’s family-owned company specializes in unfiltered, raw and unpasteurized honey. Quinn said there were many differences between their product and honey that consumers can purchase at a large chain operation.

“At a larger store often you don’t know where the honey comes from. Most of the mass-produced honey products are heated to an extent that the honey loses all the beneficial nutrients and enzymes,” said Quinn. “If you buy honey that is produced locally, you know where the product comes from and that it is still healthy to consume.”

Sajah Popham’s table contained an extensive variety of plant based oil products extracted using a unique and painstaking process known as spagyrics. Spagyrics is an application of the ancient process of herbal alchemy. The process involves fermentation, distillation and extraction of mineral components from the burnt ash of plants.

According to Popham, spagyric products are different from traditional herbal extracts in that the salts left over from the incineration stage of the process are returned to the final product. Popham said this adds to the oil’s medicinal qualities.

“We take the mineral salts and add them back into the oil,” said Popham. “Most companies that make these products just throw away the minerals. We are one of only three or four companies that use this process.”

President of the Montana Herb Gathering, Jennephyr Reiche-Sterling, said that the event has been held in a different location for 13 years. It was the first time the festival has been held in a town.

“It’s a different dynamic. We’ve created a community within a community,” said Reiche-Sterling. “This event focuses on learning about medicinal plants. We are a 100 percent family friendly event so we encourage families to attend.”

The Montana Herb Gathering began in 1997 as a small group of herbalists and has grown to include herbal enthusiasts from all over the United States. The event occurs once a year in a different location in the state.