I hope you were among the many that dropped by the art show and sale at Calvary Episcopal Church this past week to view and, yes, purchase, some of the beautiful artwork by local artists. The event, the second annual, was very successful, having more artists to participate as compared to last year and the addition of the fun and whimsical chalk art by art students at Georgia Southwestern State University, Americus Sumter High School, Furlow Charter School, Southland Academy, and Schley County High School that took place in the church parking lot Friday.
Lawrence Parish Hall turned into an art gallery filled with mixed media from outstanding pottery by Ralph Harvey and Jane Myers as well as the collection belonging to Bill and Lucy Parsons’ to Andy Shivers’ award-winning photography along with fantastic paintings: oil on canvas and acrylic and a beautiful piece by President Jimmy Carter. If you didn’t get by the show or want to buy that particular piece you fell in love with and didn’t purchase or just want to browse, you still have the opportunity from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.
Opening night the GSW Jazz band entertained while Georgia College and State University Jazz Ensemble, featuring Stephen Ledbetter and Walter Cornwell of Americus, music students at the university in Milledgeville, took center stage Thursday night. I felt like I was at the Carlyle in New York City.
Carey Wooten, show chair, was thrilled with the great response from the participating artists as well as the large interest shown by the community. The show served so many needs in the community, the most important being those of the Harvest of Hope Food Pantry where 10 percent or the artists’ sales will be donated.
Participating artists other than those named above were Bruce Case, Lori Shivers, Betty Levins, Sissy Jarrell, Hank Hart, Mary Beth Rogers, Doug Saylor, Dr. Gatewood Dudley, Cate Bailey, Charlotte Chambliss, Ashley Chandler, Rene Hagerson, Robin Lowery, Karen Kinnamon, Yasmin Hasnain, Vangie Perry, Reba Hunter, Debbie Walker, Robin Lowery, Frances Scoggins, Linda Richardson, Eveline Jarrett, Anna Trussell, and Catlin Ham.
Out and about: And this just in. If you saw Deena Blizzard’s one-woman show, “One Funny Mother,” at the Rylander Theatre in August, you saw her before she hits the big time. The comedian is heading for the top, having been named among the five finalists to co-host ABC-TV’s “The Kelly Show.” I am pulling for her to win the slot.
Meanwhile cheers to those celebrating a birthday this week: Martha Wood and our two granddaughters, Caroline Herndon and Lauren Shivers Vann.
Welcome home to Joni Woolf who spent a week in Maine, a birthday gift from her daughter and son-in-law, Tracy and John Schroeder of Rome. They visited John’s sister, Mary McDonald, and her daughter’s family, at their summer place on Capitol Island, near Boothbay Harbor. It is a tiny island, only a mile long, and has been inhabited by many of the same families for more than 100 years. Surrounded by bays that empty into the Atlantic, Joni says lobster fishermen are out daily gathering their catch for local restaurants. They visited the Botanical Gardens of Coastal Maine, where they saw dahlias as large as dinner plates, and tree-size hydrangeas blooming profusely in vivid colors this time of year. Joni says the asters are dear to her heart because they are wild, and their bright lavender faces are on every path, every trail, every byway, a product of nature, not human endeavor. Incidentally, Joni returned to greet five relatives: her son, his wife and daughter, a nephew, his wife and daughter that fled their coastal homes ahead of Hurricane Matthew, bringing eight dogs with them. They split their time between Joni’s and next door at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Carey and Marshall Wooten, who were sheltering a friend from St. Simons and her two cats. When Joni arrived home she was quite surprised as she opened the door to see two strange dogs staring her in the face, so she quietly turned around, carefully closed the door and waited outside until the refugees returned from dinner to handle their canines. And Sally Markette and her daughters, Beth Fowler of Americus and Anne Markette of Atlanta, were in Booth Bay visiting Sally’s brother and his wife, Muffy Van Voorhis, at their summer home the week before Joni was.

Our town overflowed with storm evacuees last weekend. Some former residents I am aware of that were here are Kay and Charles Reeves of St. Simons who stayed with her mother Frances Moon, and sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Wendell Sanders; Jennifer Buchanan DeLong and daughter, Sidney, of Richmond Hill, visited her parents, Jimmy and Joyce Buchanan, and Rita Capitan and her husband of St. Simons were guests of her brother Ned Capitan; Claire Cornwell Williams and her daughters of Savannah also sought refuge in Americus, enjoying seeing old friends and the First Friday event downtown. And my grandson Beau Barrett evacuated Bluffton, S.C., and spent a few days here before moving on to Panama City, Florida, for a deep sea fishing excursion, a bachelor party honoring December groom-elect Andy Gordon.

Leila Sisson Case lives in Americus.