What a whirlwind the last couple of weeks have been! Community Arts Center staff and volunteers were heavily involved in the 25th Great American Brass Band Festival – both in hosting the Wagons & Wheels contest again (for the 7th year!) and in helping to plan and staff the Great American Creation Station (the first ever, of hopefully many!). Then we went straight into Arts Exploration Camp the following Monday – we had a sold out crowd of 48 second through sixth graders in the building every day participating in almost every art activity you can think of, from square dancing to watercolors, dulcimer to drawing, acting to even a Starry Night studio. (Look for more about Arts Exploration Camp coming later this week!)
Wagons & Wheels is an event that encourages families of all shapes and sizes to get creative and crafty together, decorating their favorite form of wheeled transportation (bicycles, tricycles, wagons and wheelchairs). Since 2008 we have invited them to engage in some friendly competition the Saturday morning of GABBF, before joining the parade down Danville’s historic Main Street.
We were fortunate to have last year’s sponsor, Susan Couzens, DMD, return this year to provide financial support and goody bag support for allof our participants! She also served as one of our three judges. The judges had a daunting task, evaluating 22 different entries in a short amount of time, and selecting the top five to receive prizes. Dr. Couzens had help from Georgia de Araujo, director of Boyle County Public Library, and Joey Harris, plant manager at Denyo Manufacturing (pictured). In the end, they settled on:
Stars & Stripes Standout, most patriotic design: Independence Day, Ella and Dru Eppinghoff, Loren Eppinghoff (#5)
Best of the Brass Award, best representation of the brass band spirit: Lauren and Olivia Strong, Jenny Sluder (#20)
Judges’ Choice Award, most artistic, creative, and unusual design: Belle of Danville, Anna and Ellie Wiglesworth, Lesley Wiglesworth (#22)
Over the Top Award, showcasing the best team/group effort: Royal Brass, Amelia and Elizabeth Cloud, Annie Sanders, Susan Cloud (#2)
WOW Award, the grand prize! – The Pirate Crew, Kate Farmer, Lucy Evces, Anna Watson, Mae Pierce, Brian and Suzanne Farmer (#6)
Many, many people deserve recognition and our thanks for making this event possible! The following community contributors donated prizes and goody bag items: Captain Frank’s Hot Dog Emporium, Sweet Creations, Karamel Kreations, Papa John’s Pizza and Walmart. We had long-time volunteer Andrea Cutts running the event, with help from volunteers Emily Gerlach, Hannah Brunner and Charlie Martindale. Finally our executive director, Mary Beth Touchstone, is to thank for the outstanding pictures of this year’s Wagons & Wheels! See more of those in our Facebook photo album.
If you participated in Wagons & Wheels, thank YOU! We hope you had a great time decorating your wheels and riding in the parade. If you didn’t receive our feedback survey, please contact me. Your feedback will make future Wagons & Wheels events bigger and better!
We can’t wait to see what you all come up with next year!
Chelsea Compton
Marketing Director
chelsea@communityartscenter.net
