Sports

CAMP

Continued from pg. 1 local artist Lindsey Finch and challenged campers to explore their creativity through various forms of art and paint on different surfaces including wood and canvas while learning how to use watercolors, acrylics and paint pouring. Their artwork was both carried home and featured in the center’s gallery.

Last week’s Camp Bloom was led by local Ashland business owner Andrea Ferment, owner of Honeygirl Flowers, and followed Ferment’s expertise in a variety of floral design and arrangement. Campers in rising third through eighth grade learned how to create beautiful flower arrangements while exploring various art forms inspired by botanicals and nature.

With each session held from 9 a.m. to noon, campers spent their first day hand-painting their own T-shirts, creating branch and bird arrangements, crafting terrarium or “mini world” clay sculptures, baking bluebird cupcakes and learning from birding expert Nick Garnhart.

The campers spent their second day exploring nature photography under the direction of local photographer Kristie Bradley, hand-painted hanging birdbaths, baked mini flower cakes and created floral arrangements to benefit the Hanover Humane Society. The campers raised $400 in proceeds from selling their impressive floral arrangements.

On their third day of camp, the girls spent the morning learning how to window paint with muralist Michelle Hollender at The Depot in Ashland. Returning to the center later in the morning, the campers enjoyed handmade fruity hand pies with pastry-dough roses, chocolatedipped pizzelle ops and learned about the intricacies of caring for a succulent from Kate Leffler of Colesville Nursery while creating their own terrarium “mini worlds” to take home.

“Camp Bloom is always a fun week filled with nature’s beauty, but it is so much more than that,” said Sara WrightHolloway, executive director at HAAC. “There are two things that I think make the camp extra special – giving to a nonprofit organization and meeting women who own small businesses. These elements offer a great learning experience that the Bloomers will surely take with them into adulthood.”

The center has more in store for the young artists of the community, with “Center Players Theater Camp” scheduled for July 25 through July 29. This year’s camp will explore the “Golden Age of Theater” and musical theater accompanied by games, acting, singing, dancing and producing a movie. The camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. with the showcase featured at 5:30 p.m.

The second session of the Paint the Universe Summer Art Camp will be held from August 1 through 5 for fourth through sixth graders.

For more information on the center’s upcoming summer camps and how to register, visit the website: https:// www.hanoverarts.net/camps. Registration is limited for each camp.

Andrea Ferment, camp creator and director and owner of Honeygirl Flowers, teaches the campers how to create their own terrarium “mini worlds” with succulents alongside guest st speaker Kate Leffl er from Colesville Nursery.

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Photos by Christina Amano Dolan/The Local

The girls of Camp Bloom created mini clay sculptures of cute critters to place inside their terrariums.

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The girls of Camp Bloom concluded their third camp day by making their own mini worlds using succulents, soil, beads, clay sculptures and more. Left, the Camp Bloom girls picked out their own succulents to place inside their custom terrariums and learned how to care for them le from guest speaker Kate fr Leffl er from Colesville Nursery. L

EMILY DAVIDSON AUSTIN BAKER

Redeemer Knights of Columbus award 2022 youth scholarships

Contributed Report news@mechocal.com

The Church of the Redeemer Knights of Columbus Council extends its warm congratulations to Emily Davidson for her selection as the recipient of the 2022 Female Youth Scholarship Award and Austin Baker for the 2022 Male Scholarship Award.

Davidson graduated with a 4.3 GPA from Mechanicsville High School (MHS), where she participated in SODA (Student Organization Developing Attitudes) and the PEP Club while competing in gymnastics and maintaining a part-time job.

As a parishioner of the Church of the Redeemer, she has served as an instructor for the Youth Faith Formation and was active in the FIRE group and altruistic outreach activities to enrich the lives of others, distributing food at homeless shelters, delivering Christmas gifts to parishioners in need and visiting the elderly in nursing homes.

With her eyes fixed firmly on a career in finance as an entrepreneur, fully aware of the hard work that entails, Davidson will attend Virginia Tech, where she has been accepted into the prestigious Pamplin College of Business.

Baker graduated with a 3.9 GPA from MHS, where he attained Autodesk Inventor User Certification, participated in the NASA Virginia Aerospace Technology Scholars program and competed in varsity soccer, volleyball and indoor track, all while volunteering at Eastern Hanover Volunteer Fire Department Station #3, graduating from the Hanover Fire and EMS high school academy with full Virginia firefighting certifications and achieving Boy Scout Order of the Arrow and Eagle Scout.

As a parishioner of the Church of the Redeemer, he has participated in religious education, has volunteered to sanitize the church building for group services in accord with COVID-19 restrictions and participated in the Food Bank ministry that serves needy Hanoverians weekly. With the goal of attaining a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech, Baker plans to first pursue an Associate’s Degree from J. Sargent Reynolds. As these fine young people prepare to take the next step in their lives, both the Church of the Redeemer and its K of C Council 11042 can be proud to have them as part of the parish and the Mechanicsville community.

State Fair competitions off er blue-ribbon bragging rights

Contributed Report news@mechocal.com

If you want to win blue-ribbon bragging rights, then it’s time to start working on entries for this year’s State Fair of Virginia competitions.

Competition guides with entry deadlines and category descriptions for culinary and creative arts and horticulture entries are now online at StateFairVa.org.

Each year, hundreds of Virginians enter the competitions, and their entries are displayed during the fair. Some categories offer winners small cash prizes in addition to bragging-right ribbons. But it’s the blue ribbons that many competitors care about the most.

Ten-time ribbon winner Traci Garland said she likes to work “I’m a State Fair blue-ribbon winner” into conversations.

“It’s pretty awesome” to say those words, admitted Garland, who used to admire the winning entries at the fair but didn’t think she could participate because she lives in Richmond.

“One year, it dawned on me that I could,” shared Garland, who has competed since 2016. At the time, her daughter was 4 years old and enjoyed helping in their backyard garden and the kitchen. “I thought it might be fun to try canning with her.”

The duo made a green tomato and apple chutney that Garland entered in the open preserved foods category. She won a blue ribbon for it and has been “hooked ever since.” When Garland’s daughter was older, she entered the State Fair youth baking competition and won a red ribbon for her carrot cake.

State Fair arts and crafts, culinary and horticulture competitions are for anyone—artists, bakers, crafters, gardeners, plant experts, row crop farmers and more. There are categories for both adults and youth.

“Some people think you have to win at a county fair before you can compete at the state fair, but that’s a misnomer,” said Sarah Jane Thomsen, the fair’s manager of agriculture education and strategic programming partnerships. “Anyone can enter the arts and crafts, culinary and horticulture competitions if they meet the criteria.”

And participants in the competitions contribute to the fair’s mission of educating the public about agriculture and drawing connections to where fairgoers’ food is grown.

“A lot of people aren’t exposed to crops and plants like those displayed in the horticulture tent,” shared Lynwood Broaddus, a Caroline County farmer and frequent horticulture competitor. “But people are really interested in where their food comes from, and if they can see the commodities in person, it helps them make a connection.”

On Broaddus’ Spring Hill Farms, he and his son and brother grow wheat, rye and barley. For the past few years, they have entered samples of those crops in the horticulture competitions. He and his wife, Becky, also enter plants and vegetables from their backyard garden.

Over the past five years, the Broadduses have received over 100 ribbons, with a third of them blue.

PROGRAMS

Continued from pg. 17 trees. Registration is required at https://pamunkeylibrary. libcal.com/event/8942448.

Mystery Book Club

Monday, July 11, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ages 18 and up.

Join the library for a monthly discussion on favorite mystery titles.

Next Level Origami at the Thursday, July 14, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Ages 13 and up. In modular origami, multiple pieces of paper become building blocks to create larger, more intricate shapes. Beginners through advanced folders are captivated by this timeless mathematical art form. Presented by Josue Morales, Ph.D.

Outdoor Family Story

Time Thursdays, July 21 and 28, 4 to 4:30 p.m.

Join the library in the Rose Garden to sing songs, learn rhymes and listen to stories. Each session will have an engaging craft to take home. Feel free to bring a chair, towel and sunscreen. Register at https://pamunkeylibrary.libcal.com/ to be notified prior to the program if it is canceled due to weather.

Jack's Jungle Trailer

Monday July 25, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Welcome to Jack's Jungle, the traveling jungle zoo. Step into Jack's very own jungle trailer to see and learn about the fascinating 28 animals, in their enclosures, on the inside. There will also be animals outside of the trailer to touch

see PROGRAMS, pg. 20