We have a winner...or two!

At the beginning of October, we went out to enjoy the Rhododendron Fringe Festival and the four of us took oodles of pictures. It was interesting to see how alike a lot of our pictures were, but also how diverse some of the subjects were. We all chose the pictures we wanted to enter the photo contest and they were all printed up and sent in--a total of about 20. It seems that 14-year-old Missy has the keen eye of the family, because, out of over 200 entries, she was the winner of the overall best picture, besides the same photo being the winner in the children's division, too!



This is her winning photo, much to the chagrin of a nameless cross-town rival!

And this is my 2nd place winner in the animal division.

We are very proud of our endeavors with photography, since none of us have any prior experience to speak of.

We are also proud of Missy on her educational accomplishments. She was the top prize-winner [we called them awards] in her class for her excellent grades and will have her picture in the paper for that, as well. Of course, it was her first year in high school and the students won't be streamed into groups until next year, so it was just general courses for her that she found rather easy. Next year might be a different story to tell, but I think she will hold her own when the going gets tougher. In addition to being a good photographer, she is also a budding author!

Fringe Festival

Every spring, when the camellias and rhododendrons are in bloom, there are two organized "festivals" that show off the surrounding spring blooms. If you think your garden is grand enough to share then you register for the festival and your info is placed in the guide book. You can choose how much to charge for an entry fee--most of the Fringe Festival entrants are only $2 per person.

Over the years, the Rhododendron Festival [proper] has become more of a money-making proposition that has lost the focus of sharing the beauty; and, so the Fringe Festival has appeared. It is the same time and design as the original festival, but the entry prices are from free to $4, as opposed to up to $8 per person for the original festival entry fees.


A few months ago, there was an article in the local paper from a proper festival participant who talked down about the Fringe Festival as if it was trailer trash. Funny that this person is one that charges $8 per person. If it's about sharing the beauty, why charge at all?!?


Below are some random photos we all took this year. Click the images for large views.  Enjoy!

All the pictures you see here were taken by all four of us. We even entered some in the photo contest of Fringe Festival Gardens. It would be great if one of the kids won!