The 2012, Fillmore Flower Show, “ Celebration of Flowers” sponsored by Vision2020/Civic Pride Committee has come & gone leaving memories of enthusiastic volunteers, fragrant & colorful flower specimens, bouquets and arrangements displaying creative talent in abundance, lovely floral artwork, and a community eager to continue this tradition that began before WWI.

The nationally certified judges, Barbara Schneider, Susan Diller & Una Lopez, again expressed their enjoyment in participating in our show & offered their support by purchasing roses by donation. They are pleased that we are offering training & encouragement to interest the youth of Fillmore & surrounding areas with flower show protocol and competitive design methods.

This year an arrangement workshop was led by Charlene Smith for the teenagers at One Step A La Vez. A “hands on” miniature flower arrangement session led by Janet Foy was combined with the Soroptimist/Friends of the Library reading program at the Fillmore Library for younger children and a “bay leaf” wreath- making event was included in Cindy Klittich’s 4-H meeting. The wreaths were made as a fundraiser for next year’s flower show. These training workshops helped produce a “Best of Show” winner from our Youth Division this year!

The youth are required to bring their flowers and decorations and ideas to the show and then put them all together there without help from others. The creativity demonstrated is wonderful and inspiring for all who attend.

Asher Smith has provided violin music for the last 4 years and played both Saturday and Sunday, making a nice tradition for the show.

It was decided that this year’s “Best of Show” award would be presented in honor of Sarah Hansen, an active member of our Civic Pride Committee for years.

2012 Flower Show winners by division were: Best of Show, Lauren Fairall, 12 years old, with her theme “cake” of flowers topped by candles.

Division I, (Rose: cut, single stem) Joanne King; Division II,(Iris: cut, single stem) Carolyn Lasky; Division III, (Other single stem, cut) Mark Ortega; Division IV, (Bouquets) Charlene Smith; Division V, (Arrangements) Charlene Smith; Division VI, (Miniature Bouquets & Arrangements) Susan Hopkins; Division VII (Potted Plants) Mark Ortega; Division VIII, (Dish Gardens) John Zermeno; Division IX, (Youth Arrangements) Lauren Fairall; Division X, (Youth Compositions) Lauren Fairall.

We, who work on the shows’ planning team, value the support of Fillmore city staff like Joe Zuniga and workers that put up our big banners over Central Avenue, Patrick Maynard for helping us with the brochures, and Annette Cardona for the use of the Senior Center location.

We know the show would not be possible without all the help. Cindy Klittich designed & printed the bookmarks for the youth entrants, Marci Thompson loaned tables, Otto and Sons Nursery provided roses for decoration and fundraising and many hard workers came in Friday to help with set up & remained Sunday for “take down”.

We appreciate our local merchants who support us each year by putting up posters, passing out brochures and providing door prizes. Please “shop locally” and check out their merchandise and services. Give them a big “thank you” for supporting the Flower Show!

Merchants providing doorprizes were Attractions Spa, Avenue Pet, Mimstar, Otto & Sons Nursery, Patterson Hardware, The Scented Path, and The Treasure Station.

Individuals providing door prizes were Carolyn Lasky with a rare Green Goddess calla lily from the Huntington Library gardens and her beautiful cymbidium orchids for fundraising and as door prizes and the King & King Ranch with 4 decorated baskets displaying their extensive collection of fruit grown.

And please, remember that you are all invited to participate in bringing the flower show and other worthy community projects like historical plaques, “Yard of the Month” awards and flower plantings in the downtown area to fruition. Come add your voice and effort to improve quality of life and esthetic appeal to our community. Civic Pride Committee meets the third Wednesday of each month at 1:30 PM in City Hall.