Event to showcase plants that thrive in Oklahoma

Garden Festival in the Park

Will Rogers Park, 3400 NW 36

9 a.m. to 3

p.m.

Keyword Garden Festival in the Park 2017

festivalinthepark@cox.net

The Oklahoma City Council of Garden Clubs will hold its Garden Festival in the Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Will Rogers Park, 3400 NW 36.

In addition to plant sales, the event will feature garden-related items including stained glass pieces, jewelry, wood crafts, aprons and T-shirts. Oklahoma County Master Gardeners will answer horticulture questions.

“The clubs and societies will have plants that are proven to do well in Oklahoma City that they’re sharing from their gardens,” said April Pratt, chairman of Garden Festival in the Park.

“You can really get some great things like heirloom plants. Things that your grandmother grew.”

The festival is designed to provide a showcase for garden clubs and societies in Oklahoma City and further the mission of educating the public on how to grow, how to conserve and how to be more organic, Pratt said.

The event also is a fundraiser for individual clubs.

“The festival is completely nonprofit, but for a lot of the clubs, this is the main fundraiser to raise money for scholarships that they give to horticulture students,” Pratt said.

Despite rainy weather in the forecast, Pratt encourages fellow gardeners to come out and enjoy the park.

“If it rains, (the festival) will be moved into the exhibition hall, so no one needs to worry about getting wet,” Pratt said. “The park is beautiful. It’s a great opportunity to get out and see the gardens, learn more about garden clubs and societies and take something home you’ll love,” she said.

For more information, email festivalinthepark@ cox.net.

Technology Student Association members attended the state conference in Norman and competed in more than 30 events.

More than 1,000 middle school and high school students from across the state gathered last month for the skill competitions they had been qualifying for all year, according to a news release.

Students qualify to compete at the state level by placing in the top three in at least one of the miniconferences held throughout the state. At the state conference, students were competing to qualify for nationals in Orlando, Florida, June 21-25.

Outstanding chapter awards were presented to Edmond Cheyenne Middle School and Edmond Santa Fe High School. That is the highest award presented at the state level to one high school and one middle

school.

Officers

State and regional officers have been elected, and Edmond is represented at the regional and state levels:

•TSA state president, Alyvea Sloan, Edmond Santa Fe High School

•TSA state treasurer, Naveen Thavathiru, Edmond Santa Fe

Western region representatives

•Emma Ferguson, Cheyenne Middle School

•Akash Guruswamy, Edmond Santa Fe

•Ben Kappen, Edmond Santa Fe

•Jake Strother, Cheyenne Middle School

TSA is the national organization for technology education students. There are 243 chapters in Oklahoma. Students develop leadership and personal growth by participating in competitions that cover problem-solving, decisionmaking and critical thinking skills.