Wednesday, November 24,2021
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
Bowen Center announces art show winners
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
The Bowen Center for the Arts has
officially announced the winners of its
most recent exhibit, the “Smallest Little
Juried Art Show”.
According to a release by the
Bowen, the art show features works of
all media priced at $150 or under. The
pieces entered in the show were judged
by Mikki Root Dillon from Lilbum,
GA. Dillon studied art at Ohio State
University and resumed studies in
printmaking, stained glass, watercolor
and pastel after retirement. Her paint
ings are featured in several public and
private collections throughout the
United States and in publication.
This year’s first place winner of the
show is Paul Schiemer from Dahlonega
with his piece “Teacher’s Pet”, which
the release said the judge found capti
vating.
“This illustration really grabbed me
with its technique and intricate detail
for humor; wonderful composition,”
Dillon said in the release.
Second place in the show went to Jill
Haack from Gainesville with “Time for
Tea”, third went to Ildiko Hyde from
Cumming with “Autumn Road”, and
fourth went to Sarah Smith from
Dawsonville for “Nosy Horse”.
The show’s honorable mentions were
Gordon Benson for “Basket of Eggs”,
Ruth Jones for “Wrightsfield Beach-
South End”, Virginia Matteson for
“After the Storm”, Patrick Olmsted for
“Love Birds and Tree Hugger”, Marla
Puziss for “Gypsy Violin and Oakland
Cemetery Angel”, Dan Rhoads for
“Butterfly on Cone Flower” and Sarah
Smith for “Mourning Dove”.
The “Smallest Little Juried Art
Show” will be on display until Dec. 15.
The Bowen is located at 334 Highway
9 North and is open from Tuesday to
Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on
Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m.
“The exhibit is free so everyone can
come enjoy wonderful works of art and
the Bowen dressed in holiday splen
dor,” the release said.
For more information, contact
Executive Director Ginny Greenwood
by calling 706-216-2787 or by email
ing director@bowenarts.org.
Photo courtesy of Bowen Center for the Arts
The Bowen Center for the Arts has
announced that Paul Schiemer from
Dahlonega has won first place in the
"Smallest Little Juried Art Show" with his
piece "Teacher's Pet'.'
Panera Bread restaurant holds ‘Light the Night’ event
PANERA BREAD
xnamex Dawson County News
Staff and family members gathered at Panera Bread
Dawsonville on Nov. 19 to celebrate the kickoff of
the holiday season with the lighting of the cafe.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Friday Nov. 19, the
Panera Bread restaurant in
Dawson County held its
first annual “Light up the
Night” event, celebrating
the holiday season with the
lighting of the cafe and
kicking off a holiday fund
raiser in support of The
Place Holiday House 2021.
According to Director of
Operations Mike Duffessy,
the idea of Panera’s restau
rant locations collecting
gifts for children in need
started several years ago
with a group of 12 loca
tions collecting gifts with
“Angel Trees”.
“We started it eight years
ago in one location and got
a hundred gifts, thought
that was pretty cool so said
let’s try three or four,”
Duffessy said. “The last
year we did it before covid,
so 2019, we got up to like
4,000 gifts with our 12
locations and we gave them
to the Salvation Army’s
angel tree program.”
Since that year, Duffessy
said the 12 locations, plus
another 23 franchise loca
tions, were bought out by a
restaurant company called
Bluegrass, so now the
group is 35 strong.
Shannon Taylor, director of
marketing, said that
Bluegrass has been very
supportive of Panera Bread
continuing community
involvement with things
like the Christmas gift fun
draisers.
“They’re very heavily
focused on being involved
with the community that
our cafes are in, whether
that be chamber member
ship, partnerships with a lot
of the schools, but really
becoming part of the com
munity,” Taylor said.
The idea to partner with
The Place Holiday House,
Taylor said, came together
smoothly from partnerships
that Panera already held
with the nonprofit.
“Our end-of-day dona
tion partner at this cafe is
RIC-Rack; they’re part
nered with The Place
Dawson which in turn is
The Place Forsyth, so it
kind of all organically
came together,” Taylor said.
“So this cafe and the
Cumming cafe are both
gonna collect for the holi
days to benefit The Place
Holiday House.”
Now through mid-
December, Panera will col
lect new, unwrapped toys
and gifts to donate to the
Holiday House. Taylor said
that there’s a request list on
the Christmas tree set up
inside of the restaurant with
gift ideas for boys and girls
of all ages, but that any toy
donation is welcomed.
In addition to gift dona
tions, the Holiday House
also asks for donations of
wrapping paper and tape so
the parents can wrap their
gifts for their children.
“The parents are allowed
to then go into the house
and then essentially shop
so they get to pick out ‘Oh
Johnny’s favorite thing is
Paw Patrol so we’ll go to
the Paw Patrol section’,”
Taylor said. “They’re also
asking for wrapping paper
and tape because that’s
another thing that they
would have to go out and
purchase, so they ask for
that as well just to help
out.”
Taylor said the Holiday
House has asked for all of
the donations Panera col
lects to be dropped off by
Dec. 15, but that any gifts
that are brought in after that
can be saved for next year
or taken to The Place at a
later time.
Duffessy said that light
ing up the cafe in celebra
tion of the holiday season
is a way of bringing in
more community members
to view the lights and drop
off gifts.
“We came up with the
idea of what if we lit up the
cafe with holiday lights and
really try to get the local
community involved,”
Duffessy said. “We’re hop
ing people will come by
and see the Panera Bread
and see the lights and drop
off any type of gift that
they would like to donate
for the needy children.”
Ryan Fox with company
Lights All Year decorated
the restaurant with hun
dreds of shining white
lights, a huge light-up
wreath and larger-than-life
lit-up snowflakes. Once
darkness fell on Nov. 19,
the staff, family and friends
of Panera Bread
Dawsonville stood outside
and cheered as the lights
were officially all turned
on, illuminating the exteri
or of the cafe.
Duffessy said his whole
team has set a goal of col
lecting 1,000 gifts between
the Dawsonville and
Cumming locations. He
added that he’s extremely
excited to help give back to
the community, and espe
cially excited to partner
with such a great local
community to do so.
“We’ve been in
Dawsonville for five years
and they’ve just been great
to us; it’s just been a really
great local community cafe
for us and we just felt this
one really deserved a little
special attention,” Duffessy
said. “We feel like this time
of year it’s very important
to give back, and I’m excit
ed to do it with this local
community for sure.”
To drop off a Christmas
gift in support of Panera’s
gift drive for The Place
Holiday House 2021, take
toys or gifts to Panera
Bread Dawsonville at 321
Power Center Drive or to
Panera Bread Cumming at
500 Lakeland Plaza. For
more information on the
restaurants’ holiday fund
raisers, stop by either res
taurant or call the
Dawsonville restaurant at
(706)216-3996.
For more information
about The Place Holiday
House 2021 including a
full list of gift ideas, go to
https ://www.theplaceoffor-
syth.org.
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