Sunflower Festival (alternately known upon occasion as Sunflower Fest, Sunflower Folk Art Day, just Sunflowering and sometimes even Sunflower Fiasco) will be on us sooner than we expect. I have soft spot for the event ever since Sunflower 2000 - my first Mountainair web page.
Good news - it looks like we will have sunflowers for Sunflower Festival this year. I've spotted them growing in yards and lots about town. But they are not something we can count on every year. One year they arrogantly, like a teen ager flouting authority, appeared a week after festivities. They sometimes thumb their figurative noses at us. Some frustrated resettlers have gone so far as to suggest the absence of sunflowers constituted ground for abolishing the event, moving the date and - gasp - calling it something else. Maybe California sunflowers are better behaved, more obedient, less libertarian.
sunflower landscape, Cuenca, Spain; photo by mikelon Rejoice for the possibility of sunflowers but let's not take them for granted or assume that they will be here on schedule or even at all. Remember the nose thumbing. Sunflowers do not want us to take them for granted. Bearing that in mind, I propose
bridging the sunflower gap by displaying other kinds of sunflowers everywhere. That's the reason for recent layout changes here. Just doing my bit to spread sunflowers.
California GoldSend me your sunflower pictures - art, oddities, quilts, folk art, jewelry, photos of local sunflowers, storefront sunflower displays, pottery, tiles... Got sunflower requests? Send those too.
I just saw sunflower schedule - no children's sunflower art. what's that about?
ReplyDeletewoulda thought california another kind of plant
ReplyDeleteHummm....I see. No mention of children's sunflower art? That is the core of the event! The children really look forward to making the art and showing it off to family when their pieces show up in the windows. I am so terribly disappointed! Why would "the powers that be" eliminate something that brings so much happiness to children? I don't understand......
ReplyDeletere California Gold - no, it's a hybrid sunflower strain. you must be thinking of Humboldt gold
ReplyDeletere Children's Sunflower Art.
ReplyDeleteJude, I couldn't agree more. Maybe someone from council will man up and explain it to us here. The explanation I got ranks right up there with the dog ate my homework.
And not just the children... it's the part of sunflower locals most identify with and associate with the event.
The arts council definitely dropped the ball on this one. I hope someone else picks it up.
Well, if no one else picks up the ball and reinstates "children's art"...you can assume this will be the last sunflower event. Some associated with the council have wanted this to happen. They got their wish....
ReplyDeleteHow stupid.
Missing comments! Where did they go?
ReplyDeleteI don't know but blogger had downtime yesterday for servicing so suspect that may have something to do with it.
A better answer than being paranoid.
Briefest of recaps on missing commments:
Anon asked about sunflower pic; anon (same or another), Jude and I commented on absence of children's sunflower on SF schedule. I'll probably turn this topic into a separate post cum idiotorial and reopen discussion.
Hey all - we seem to have lost about half a dozen comments to this post - including yesterday's comment on lost comments. I don't know why or how this happened. Finding a real human around this joint (blogger) to ask is next to impossible.
ReplyDeleteI'll address MIA Children's Sunflower Art in a post of its own.
Several comments addressed and expanded on anon's question
Why not use blog to call for volunteers to collect sunflower art from the school and put it up around town?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone let the teachers know about this change
ReplyDeleteHow did the children's sunflower art displays get started anyway? Maybe the person or group that started it would take responsibility now.
ReplyDelete