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Thomasville's Only Issue No.
January 20 - February 2 VOLUME 6
Get Your Antique On The Antiques Show is Coming The 28th Annual Thomasville Antiques Show is coming up on February 24-26 with an activity-packed event schedule. Thirty of the country’s most prestigious dealers will offer the opportunity to view and purchase exquisite antiques including furniture, paintings, rugs, jewelry, tableware, accessories and collectibles to suit the taste of the casual and the serious collector.
Anyone who is interested in having their heirlooms evaluated should call the Antiques Show office to reserve a time on Friday, Feb. 24, from 3:30-5p; Saturday, Feb. 25, from 1:30 -3p or Sunday, Feb. 26, from 11:30a-2 p. Attendees will pay $10 per item evaluated with a max of three items.
This year’s show is dedicated to the memory of one of its original founders, Mercer Pendleton Watt, an indefatigable philanthropist in the Thomasville community. Mercer’s motivation was the charitable mission of the Antiques Show. Her life’s focus was serving Thomasville and Thomasville organizations. The Show will continue on in the spirit of her generosity.
Another exciting event that attendees can look forward to is this year’s Cocktails and Collections, which returns to the Show on Saturday, Feb. 25. Attendees will begin the evening at The Biscuit Company in Historic Downtown Thomasville at 5:30p for drinks and prepare for a tour of three homes in the Dawson Street district. There, they will learn about the history and use of the collections in each home and enjoy a wine and cheese pairing at each location.
The Show’s mission is to raise money for Thomas County and surrounding area’s children’s charities. Kathy Vignos, President of the Board of Directors at TASF indicated that the foundation has given away more than $2 million to local children’s programs over the last 27 years.
At the conclusion of the tours at 8p, attendees will return to The Biscuit Company to enjoy a party sponsored by Farmers and Merchants Bank. Dinner will include passed tapas, pulled-pork sliders, New Englandstyle clam chowder and dessert. Those who stay to dance to the D.J.’s tunes will also enjoy a late-night snack.
The list of organizations awarded funds has grown from an original handful to upwards of 30 programs that serve children in our area including Halcyon Home, Marguerite Neel Williams Boys & Girls Club, Treehouse Children’s Advocacy Center, Thomas County Youth Camp, Thomasville Entertainment Foundation and Vashti Center for Children and Families, to name a few. One of the biggest draws to the Antique Show each year is hearing nationally and internationally-known speakers, which have included interior decorators and landscape architects in the past. This year’s speakers will be London-based florist Paula Pryke interior designer Amanda Lindroth and vintage car expert Mark Gessler. Attendees can also look forward to getting some of their own antiques evaluated by Lark Mason, antiques expert from PBS’s popular Antiques Roadshow.
Combination tickets for the tour and the party are $125 each. Tickets also are available for those who prefer to attend the party after the tour for $75 each. Either option will include admission to the Antiques Show all weekend. Tickets are available online at www. thomasvilleantiquesshow.com. Call 229-236-TASF to schedule your evaluation.
- Denise P.
Workshop Aims to Help Preserve the Art of Storytelling “Storytelling was our first language.” {Perhaps it is a language our society is close to losing given our proclivities for email, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Although I’m sure somewhere in the future someone will talk about storytelling in the age of social media.} Writer Saundra Kelley is someone who is helping our society preserve the oral tradition of storytelling. Kelley’s passion for the oral tradition of storytelling was ignited while working for Big Bend Hospice. “Catching the stories of those passing to the other side awakened the urge to tell,” Kelley says. “As I was there to listen to their stories, I felt I had the task to share them.” Kelley will lead a series of four workshops sponsored by the Thomas County Historical Society and the Thomasville Center for the Arts. The interactive workshops will begin with oral tradition storytelling with Kelley sharing the Civil War story "Blood on the Floor" from Tennessee. A Tallahassee native, Kelley spent time in Tennessee where she studied storytelling at East Tennessee State University. “[The Civil War] story illustrates what one can do with historical facts enhanced by a family’s memories, then blended to create a powerful experience of another time and place,” Kelley says. “Storytelling perpetuates memories of years before we learned to write. What I will do {in the workshops} is pull up what is already there and teach some useful techniques.” Workshop attendees will be encouraged to recall their memories of and those of their families about Thomasville. Once stories are explored, students learn the process of communicating those stories by diagramming a “storyteller’s arc” then sharing those stories orally.
“In a community with a rich history, the workshop will encourage community members to personalize a larger narrative and connect with history,” says Amelia Gallo, educator & assistant to the director of the Thomas County Historical Society and Museum of History. The first workshop will lay the groundwork for the following three sessions. A period of time between workshops has been built in to allow participants to research their stories using resources available at the Historical Society and the community. The final three workshops will be used for refining the storytelling. “We will discuss ways to find our stories including oral history collection, photos and our own memories. And what should tell and what we should not tell,” Kelley says. Kelley says that every family has stories that relate to the place where they live. In those histories are nuggets that often lie hidden. “Stories about wildfires… weird houses with secrets, bodies buried in the wrong grave and of course, ghosts. Those stories are rich and I know that Thomasville is full of them.” Indeed. And you can’t get that kind of richness from Instagram or Twitter. WHEN:
February 4 and 25, 10a to Noon March 4 and 11, 10a to Noon
WHERE:
Thomas County Historical Society 725 North Dawson Street
FEE:
$150.00 for all four workshops. Pre-registration is required. Register through TCA's or TCHS's website.
Thomasville's Only
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FREE January 20 - February 2 VOLUME 6
Quoted in the Ville
tosacfest to feature loads of local talent
What were your New Year’s resolutions? - Emily M.
TOSACFEST 2017 – “ENCORE” has two new-writer showcase original, comedic, three act dramas this year: The Diva and the Daffodil Drama Dolls by Greg Rabidoux and The Basket Club by Joana Russell. That both plays are comedies, and yet quite different, proving, not merely the talent of their writer-directors but that a broad genre can accommodate diverse visions. Townie recommendation: Festival Tickets for $20. This gains each ticketholder admittance to both shows.
“I am going to be a more attentive friend.” - Areka B. “Not go to the gym.” - Kent S. “Try to cross to-dos off my list within a week.” - Erin S. “I don't do those anymore. They don't work.” - Princelia R. “Get a girlfriend.” - Peyton H. “Get a car.” - Floyd G. “To enjoy every moment and not rush through the next year!” - Brooke C. “Finish my unfinished projects.” - Susan P. “All of the above.” - Chris J. My resolutions go day to day :-} - June D.
Up first comes The Diva and the Daffodil Drama Dolls, Friday, January 20th at 8p, and Saturday the 21st at 2p, then again on Saturday at 8 p.m., concluding Sunday the 21st at 2p. The “diva” is a former child actress, whose famous debut on a diaper wipes commercial is wellremembered even if hardly anyone could answer: “where is she now.” By the turning of events our diva, Ms. M {a tribute to Bette Midler}, is coerced to direct the town’s drama troupe, the “Potent Pansies” in a drama competition against nearby rivals, the Daffodil Drama Dolls. The play within the play is entitled, Zombies in the House. And Assistant Director, Marissa Vaughn has some potent surprises in store. This is Greg Rabidoux’s sixth play, and the first of his to be produced and staged at TOSAC. Joanna Russell is the Thomasville Center for the Arts, current Artistin-Residence at Studio 209, She has spent much of her tenure writing The Basket Club, but she takes particular delight from the workshops she conducts for some of our local nursing home residents. This is a three act, one set play. Action occurs in the Rec Room of an asylum. Assistant Director, John Moss, accomplishes much with less on the set and within a small space. The movement of actors on stage and their interplay, when they are not the primary focus on stage, evinced as particularly well done in the rehearsal I attended. Marshall Singletary is apt as the world’s famous detective, “grandson of Sherlock Holmes.” Basket Club is not only a whodunit but, for a while, a whatever-was-it-that-was-doneanyway? Both offerings are hoots and, as outgoing TOSAC board member, Jana Mohr proffers, “I am thrilled that we are putting on another theater festival featuring local playwrights.” So, come and participate in TOSACFEST 2017 – “ENCORE.” Come and be delighted.
- Benjamin G
Townie-TASF Exclusive:
Q + A with world renowned florist Paula Pryke I hate missing the annual Thomasville Antiques Show this year. Always such a terrific event. The guest speakers, the food, seeing old friends. One of Georgia’s, if not the South’s, better parties.
PP- That’s a hard call. Hydrangea... I think Tulips are very meritocratic looking as good in a castle or a small apartment. Ranunculus are my muse.
I will miss the fun but was fortunate enough to correspond via email with Antiques Show guest speaker, author and internationally renowned florist Paula Pryke on florals, the challenges of running a business and, of course, style.
SH- What do you feel is the best location to showcase fresh florals for maximum enjoyment? PP- The entrance to the home is a key area. If you open the door and see florals…. it makes you smile.
SH- Many busy people feel as if florals are a luxury or a bother. What advice can you give an active person on floral arrangements for today’s hectic lifestyle? PP- Buy the longest lasting flowers that might be more expensive but will give you a good seven days in the vase. Amaryllis, Lilies, Hydrangea, Orchids. Some flowers now last two weeks such as Vanda Orchids or Anthuriums and so they are less time consuming.
SH- As a successful business women, what advice can you give those looking to start their own businesses? PP- Work hard, always do your best and listen to the customer. In business, nothing remains the same and so be ready to re-invent yourself several times. There is always going to be competition and someone working for less money but never compromise on what your art is worth.
SH- As a designer, I subscribe to the theory there are two essentials which can make or break a room. Lighting and florals. Both of which, I believe, can transform a plain room into a more stylish version of itself. What are your thoughts on the use of florals in a design scheme? PP- Flowers always add a pop of color and life to a room.
SH- If style was a flower, what would it be, according to Paula Pryke? PP- Well the natural style comes and goes and is back again now. If you arrange flowers like they grow and appear in nature, that is always a good style.
SH- I feel the correct vessel is as important as the florals themselves. Not only for the room but for the type of flowers chosen. What are some guidelines in coordinating the appropriate vessel to the proper bloom for the designated space? PP- The vase is always the first thought, the vessel is essential.
Award winning Paula Pryke is the author of 17 books on the art of floral design. Her work is admired internationally. Ms. Pryke will be speaking at the Thomasville Antiques Show on Friday, February 24 at 9a.
- Davey B.
SH- What, in your opinion, is the most versatile flower?
- June D.
F r e e
t o
r e a d ,
t h a n k s
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t h e s e :
Our Clients Are Our Friends
Finding History in Our Stories
Master the art of storytelling with Saundra Kelly
Where Living is Easy Phone 229-226-3911 www.keysouth.com
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presented by Thomasville Center for the Arts and the Thomas County Historical Society
February 4 and 25; March 4 and 11
FOR MORE INFO
www.thomasvillearts.org