It’s a Wrap!
The resounding success of the 2026 Show What You Grow contest and exhibit at the Blackberry Faire was due to the coordinated efforts of many people and organizations, and all of them deserve a huge and heartfelt Thank You. DIRCS provided a much-appreciated $200 grant. Prizes were generously contributed by Abraxas, Denman Island Chocolate Factory, Denman Island Garden Society, Denman Island General Store, Corlan Vineyard, Keep Floral, Roxanne Whitman and Donna Stearns, Ruby Slipper Ranch, and Susan Weesen. Special thanks are due to Shirley Ward of the garden society, whose steady hand and good suggestions kept the planning committee on track and inspired approximately 30 volunteers.
Thanks to all those who brought corn stalks, ornamental grasses, dried seed pods, fall flowers, ornamental baskets, hay bales, and other fall-themed decorations to decorate the hall, and especially to Cynthia Rome, who recruited and coordinated the volunteers who set up the decorations the day before the Faire and took them down afterwards. Thanks also to those who helped with intake and placement, cleanup, and those who volunteered as judges in ten different categories.
The response to this year’s show was overwhelming: over 200 entries that overflowed the display tables and brought comments that the hall had never looked so good. There were also 18 entries in the kids’ section, all of them so inventive and exceptional that every one of them won first prize.
The eight entries in the scarecrow section showed great creativity and brought delight to all who viewed them, but the winner by a landslide of popular vote was The Raven, created by Taina Uitto and Claire Lepore. The Jimmy Tait trophy for best bouquet in Show What You Grow was won by Diana Bridge, and the Best in Show went to Rose Fell for her intricate display of miniature vegetables pulled by a zucchini tractor.
To everyone who contributed in any way to this year’s show, well done! See you next year.
