Submitted by Sue McManus
Shacksboro Schoolhouse Museum
The vivid colors and intoxicating fragrances that once blanketed hundreds of acres on the western Lysander hillsides await visitors to Peony Fest 2017. With the Shacksboro Schoolhouse Museum’s heritage peony beds as the backdrop, McHarrie Park will be abuzz this Saturday with artists, musicians, gardeners and history lovers.
Sharon Blair and her Plein Air art class return with easels and lap boards as they focus on the peony beds as subjects for their canvases. Exhibiting artists include Jan Revier, rug hooking artist from LeRoy; Judith Brown-Roenbeck, watercolorist from Marcellus; Stacy Griffin, glass specialist from Liverpool, with jewelry, paperweights and blown glass; Sandra and Chris Mann, woodworkers and textile artists from Montgomery, Massachusetts; Christine Sypher, garden art fabricator from Fayetteville, specializing in bird baths and garden totems made from repurposed china, teacups, pottery, etc.; Carol Schreiner, sterling silver jewelry designer from Newark; and Kris Minster from Scipio Center with fabric accessories for home and wardrobe as well as spa items.
Several Baldwinsville artists will also be exhibiting, including landscape and built environment photographer Mary Shear; Romayne Welch, jewelry artist with glass, beads, stones and leather; Gail Cali with jewelry and her distinctive silk flower arrangements; and nature photographer Polly Henry with photos and handmade cards.
The Women’s Garden Club of Baldwinsville will offer a wide variety of plants and fresh cut blooms. Town of Lysander historian Bonnie Kisselstein will demonstrate and explain unusual vintage implements in her perennially popular “What’s It?” booth and the Baldwinsville Public Library will have tips on researching garden and plant issues.
Songwriter and musician Kay Miracle will be back with her gypsy caravan and a roster of talented performers who fill the air with original music and sweet sounds. Kay’s innovative caravan with its small stage and canopy is a piece of art in its own right.
Everyone is invited to enter the peony flower show and the photo contest. Rules for both are available at the museum and online at shacksboromuseum.com. Flower show winners are determined by popular vote; photos will be judged by professionals.
A century ago, Baldwinsville’s Indian Spring Farms, Inc. was nationally known for its outstanding peonies. The Great Depression marked the end of the farm’s peony business but many of the plants survived. Root stock from those prize winning plants is thriving today in the museum’s peony gardens.
Peony Fest is a celebration of beauty, history and community. All are welcome. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; flower show entries may be submitted that day between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Parking is available on the grounds. For more information, call (315) 638-2452 or email bvmuseum@ seneca-river.com.
