Winebarger wins Farm-City photo contest
'100 Years of Pickin'' by Leda Winebarger
Call it a picture-perfect marriage of farm and city.
As
part of the annual Watauga County Farm-City Banquet, the Watauga County Arts Council has found a
winner for its 2012 Farm-City Photography Competition in Leda Winebarger.
Winebarger’s photo,
“100 Years of Pickin’,” depicts a pitcher of apple cider and some accompanying apples atop a barrel,
which sits below an aged apple tree.
The image was printed twice and then framed by Mike Hill
of Purveyors of Art and Design in Foscoe. One framed image will be given to Winebarger at the 2012
Farm-City Banquet, where she will be officially recognized. This year’s banquet will take place at
the Boone United Methodist Church on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m.
The second framed
image is being raffled by the Watauga County Arts Council, with proceeds going to benefit the
programming of the arts council. Raffle tickets are $3 each or four for $10 and are available in
advance at the Watauga Arts Council Gallery at 783 W. King St. in downtown Boone, online and through
arts council board members and volunteers. They will also be available at the Farm-City Banquet, and
ticketholders do not need to be present to win.
In 2011, the Watauga County Arts Council
began sponsoring the Arts in Agriculture Award at the annual Farm-City Banquet. This award
recognizes a local artist or arts organization that captures the spirit of agriculture in Watauga
County.
Each year, the arts council seeks a unique way to celebrate the impact of the
arts on the area’s agricultural community. This year’s competition was an opportunity for local
photographers to share their photographic images of local scenery, which exemplify the theme of the
Watauga County Farm-City Banquet.
More than 15 entries were received and, after a
lengthy deliberation, the Watauga County Arts Council’s Gallery Committee selected Winebarger’s
photograph as this year’s winner.
This year’s Farm-City Banquet is the 57th
annual event, which provides an occasion for residents from both the rural and urban areas of
Watauga County to gather together to celebrate and recognize the interdependence of these two vital
elements of the community and its residents.
“The purpose is to bring the farm folks and the
city folks together and to give recognition to folks in the urban community and in the rural
community who would not normally get recognized for a lot of their hard work and efforts,” said Jim
Hamilton, director of the Watauga County Center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension.
This year’s theme is “Local Farms Feed Local Families.”
Those interested in
attending the banquet may purchase tickets at the Watauga extension office through Nov. 7. Adult
tickets cost $10, and tickets for children ages 6 to 12 cost $5. Children 5 and younger are admitted
free. Tickets will not be sold after Nov. 7.
Those attending are encouraged to bring a
canned food item to donate to area food banks.
For more information, contact the Watauga Center
of the N.C. Cooperative Extension at (828) 264-3061.
For more information on the Watauga
County Arts Council, call (828) 264-1789 or visit http://www.watauga-arts.org.
