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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
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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
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TOSAC Storefront Theater, 117 S. Broad St. 8p Fri.; 2 + 8p Sat.; 2p Sun.; $20 TOSACFest is a festival of local playwrights’ original shows. This year there are two shows. The first weekend Greg Rabidoux will present The Diva and the Daffodil Drama Dolls (Jan. 20-22) and the second weekend (Jan. 27-29) Joana Russell will present The Basket Club.
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January 21
Editor in Chief Jennifer Westfield
Social Media
Dara Barwick Denise Purvis Jennifer Westfield
Columnists www.tcfederal.com J. David Bray, Jr. Sarah Brown Denise Purvis Kelly Samek
Gretta Fair Isle with Barbara Beliveau Fuzzy Goat, 223 W. Jackson St., 10:30a-1:30p Choose one {or both!} of these perky patterns: the Gretta Hat or Mitt pattern is knit in bold and bright stranded color work with lots of playful design elements. This pattern is worked in the round using only 2 colors at a time. The chart is clear and easy to follow. The pattern was designed for Luxadorna Fair Isle Box of Itty Bitties, a kit that contains 9 mini cakes of 100% Cashmere sport weight yarn. These cashmere knit kits come in 3 bright and lively colorways. For more information, contact Fuzzy Goat at 223 W. Jackson St.
HOTC Mardi Gras Masquerade Party & Fundraiser
Contributing Writers
Kimberly Duncan Alderman John David Bray, Jr. Clay Byars www.tcfederal.com June Dollar Benjamin Gardner William Hamil Annie Jones Denise Purvis Jennifer Westfield
Advertising Design
The Biscuit Company, 219 Oak St., 7p, $75pp Join HOTC for an evening of New Orleans-style revelry with a mission. Celebrate 13 years of volunteers with HOTC at their annual Mardi Gras Masquerade Party & Fundraiser. All proceeds from this event benefit HOTC volunteer and community service programs. Tickets include: delicious Cajuninspired cuisine by Southern Bleu Catering, drinks, live music {and dancing, of course} by The Blues Factor Band, prize for Best Mask, and more. Get your tickets online at http:// www.handsonthomascounty.org/2016/12/12/mardi-grasmasquerade/
Our expertise is in your best interest.
The stylish house
Beauty Broad
January 20-22 TOSACFest 2017: The Diva and the Daffodil Drama Dolls
Nat Higdon Vice President, Commercial Lending
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New Year’s Goals Worth Considering Embrace Imperfection: It’s unrealistic to eat perfectly everyday and I am here to tell you that is 100% okay. Want to eat clean? Great! Want to indulge during a special dinner with your partner? Even better. Make conscious decisions about when you might like to splurge. Embrace it, live fully, and it will be easier to meet your long term goals in the end. Self-Love: Probably the most powerful thing you can do for your mind, body and overall happiness and contentment. Treat yourself as you would a treasured friend. Are you supportive, encouraging and positive or just the opposite? We are not perfect and not meant to be. Try to release that impossible standard and be okay with making mistakes, learning from them and moving on. It’s productive, liberating and where the true growth happens. Move your body: We are not meant to be stagnant. Our bodies want to move, bend, walk, run and be strong. Consider shifting your mindset from the number on the scale to feeling good and begin to observe what happens. Small changes daily make a big impact. If you have a desk job, try standing up every 30 minutes to an hour to do 10 squats or a quick walk around the office. Use the time to bring the awareness to your breath and breathe deeply five times. Simple habits like this daily are the key to feeling great. Create morning and evening rituals: These do not have to be overly involved or complicated. Routine turns into habits and becomes the building blocks for a healthy lifestyle. For instance, every morning I drink hot water with lemon followed by 10-15 minutes of yoga before getting ready for work. This sets the tone for my morning and like a domino effect has a positive influence on the rest of my choices throughout the day. My evening ritual consists of washing my face and applying an exfoliant, serum and moisturizer. Then I like to have a big mug of hot tea with honey and read for about 5-10 minutes before I go to bed. This feels nourishing and prepares me for a restorative sleep.
- Sarah Brown is the Townie's resident goddess.
TEF Brings cool Jazz to the 'Ville
Katie Reeves
January 22
Layout
Jennifer Westfield
Distribution Trent Tucker
Georgia Press Association
The Thomasville Townie publishes the first and third Friday of every month. To advertise, suggest article ideas or contact staff members, please email yourtownie@gmail.com.
Red Hills Fire Festival Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, 13093 Henry Beadel Dr., 11a-3p Attend this all-ages event to experience, enjoy and learn about the special natural process of fire in southern pinelands. The festival will include wagon rides, wildlife, live prescribed fire, equipment demonstrations, fire talks with experts, kids' activities, four of our favorite food trucks and live music from Clever Girl! Find them on Facebook at Red Hills Region and check the Events section.
The Thomasville Entertainment Foundation will host jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and his quartet on Thursday, February 9 at the Thomasville Center for the Arts. A New Jersey native, Pizzarelli, has recorded more than 40 albums {as a solo or with a group} with such luminaries as Rosemary Clooney, George Shearing and the Boston Pops. Pizzarelli has established himself as a master interpreter of the American Songbook with Cole, Sinatra, Gershwin, Rodgers and McCartney being his touchstones. “I’ve always said in my concerts that Nat King Cole is why I do what I do,” he says. “We aren’t trying to copy him. His sound was singular and inspired. I’ve always said we’re a 21st Century extension of him." The group has performed on some of the nation’s most popular shows such as “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon;” “The Conan Show;” and “Live with Kelly.”
January 27
WHAT :
The John Pizzarelli Quartet
Fuse: Iconic
WHEN:
Thursday, February 9 at 7:30p
Thomasville Center for the Arts, 600 E. Washington Ave. 6p, $25-35 Join South Georgia Ballet as they celebrate their 11th anniversary of one of the premiere shows of the season, FUSE. This year South Georgia Ballet’s talented dancers will be joined by Dana King and the Gypsy Cotton as they dance and sing their way through your favorite music from past decades. This is the must see performance of the year, don’t miss it! For more info or tickets call 229-378-2787 or visit www. southgeorgiaballet.org.
WHERE:
Thomasville Center for the Arts
FEE:
Tickets are $38 and $15. Visit www.tefconcerts.com/
or call 229-226-7404
Printed by the Bainbridge Post-Searchlight
January 27-29 TOSACFest 2017: The Basket Club TOSAC Storefront Theater, 117 S. Broad St. 8p Fri.; 2 + 8p Sat.; 2p Sun.; $20 TOSACFest is a festival of local playwrights’ original shows. This year there are two shows.
Working in your There is an old saying, very true: “Real money whispers, it best interest. doesn’t scream.” Its companion piece could be “less is more.” But back to the southern woman and style. Heather Taylor Personal Banker
Example. The simple beauty of the Sparrow overshadowed by the more vivid plumage of the Blue Jay. If the latter is Elizabeth Taylor, the former would be Thomasville’s own Joanne Woodward.
Where does one begin with the elegant Miss Woodward? With her electrifying, Academy Award winning performance in The Three Faces of Eve? With her enviable and legendary fifty-year marriage to the eternally handsome and talented Paul Newman? Her talent? Her beauty? Yes, all that, but let’s go back a little farther. Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward Newman joined the party on February 27, 1930, right here in Thomasville. She is the daughter of Elinor Trimmier and Wade Woodward, Jr. {no relation to the famous New York Woodwards of shooting scandal and racing fame}. Mr. Woodward was, at one point, the vice president of the legendary publishing house Scribner and Sons. Mrs. Woodward, like many ladies of the time, was a film aficionado. Elinor adored the movies and named her daughter after her idol, Joan Crawford, but preferred the Southern pronunciation “Jo Ann.” Mrs. Woodward took her young daughter northward to the capital for the Atlanta premiere of Gone with the Wind in 1940. Whereupon nine-year-old Joanne, a live wire of excitement, rushed out into the sea of stars and plopped herself down in the lap of one Laurence Olivier {lover and later husband of the film's Scarlett, Vivian Leigh}. Later in life she would work with Sir Olivier in the tele play of Come Back Little Sheba in the midseventies. Joanne and her family lived in Thomasville until she was in the second grade. Then, she and her family left the southern part of the state for the upper Piedmont region of Marietta. There she attended high school and won a number of beauty pageants. To this day, she remains a booster of Marietta High and a patron of the beautiful, historic Strand Theater on Marietta Square. Sadly, when she was a high school junior, her parents divorced and she moved, once again, to Greenville, SC, where she graduated in 1947. Later, at Louisiana State University, she was an initiate of the Chi Omega sorority and studied drama before heading to New York to perform on the stage. Next time we sit down, we will discuss her film career, her simple, elegant style and her lifelong love affair with the late Paul Newman.
— John David Bray, Jr. is a Project Manager/Designer at Landford Thompson Interiors. He sees clients in Thomasville by appointment. www.landfordthompsoninteriors.com
- June D.
January 28 ShannyPant’s Bday Bash with Master Plan B Farmer's Daughter Vineyards Tasting Room, 106 N. Broad St., 6-8p Live music featuring Matt and the crew from Master Plan B. Blues, originals and alternative tunes sure to get you movin’. Another fun, family-appropriate event with signature cocktails a-plenty and zero cover.
Dining Around the World
The Southern woman has always held a unique place when it comes to personal style. Englishwomen are too tweedy. Northern women are too trendy and current. Eastern girls get it but lack a certain softness that makes them off-putting. West Coast and New York women are, without a doubt, laws unto themselves.
St. Augustine Catholic Church, 211 N. Pinetree Blvd., 7p Take a trip around the globe without leaving Thomasville! Sample world cuisine! You can buy advance tickets for $9 at the church after the weekend Masses or by calling Jeannie at 224-5637. Tickets at the door cost $10 and all proceeds benefit local charities.
Join JSL for a soiree + Bazaar!
Townies can always count on Junior Service League’s Bargain Bazaar each year where they can score some gently used household goods; women’s, men’s and children’s clothing; toys; accessories, furniture and more. This year what was formerly known as the Preview Party has been reborn as the Southern Soiree If you are unable to attend the Southern Soiree on Friday night, you can always shop the Bazaar on Saturday. Tickets are $2 at the door, cash only, where shoppers can take advantage of shopping the bazaar from 8a until noon. JSL is accepting donations up until the day before the event. If you are interested or know someone interested in donating for Bargain Bazaar please email jslthomasville@yahoo.com. To get tickets, contact yours truly, Denise Purvis, any JSL member or pick them up from Mary Madison.
- Denise P.
When it comes to your business or event, the right creative choices can help you stand out from the crowd. Be brave.
Phone 229.403.1741 | ktcreative@me.com www.ktcreative.net
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Nat H Vice Comm