By Sonja Schemahorn
Ten-year-old Jacob Smith from Chelsea won first place for his impressively tall sunflower, and sunflower head, which he entered this year in the 85th Annual Chelsea Community Fair.
He started his flowers from seed in March, and kept them in a greenhouse until Memorial Day.
“My papa has a big big garden,” Smith said. “Last year, they didn’t do so well because the deer kept on getting into them. This year we put up an electric fence around them so they couldn’t get in. This one was pretty tall so we decided to enter it.”
Smith, the main caretaker for these massive flowers, explained the importance of water. Dousing the entire plant improves the overall health of the leaves, however you want to focus most of the water at the base. The rain primarily nurtures his flowers throughout the year, but he does occasionally need to water them himself.
After finding out his sunflowers won first place, he was very excited to claim his sunflower as his own. Smith’s hard work and dedication paid off.
Chelsea resident Cynthia Silveri is quite the artist when it comes to working with yarn and thread. After attending a class at the Artisan Knitworks in Ann Arbor, she learned the crochet technique of freeform.
Once she created medallion-like shapes, she connected them into a shawl pattern. The piece is adorned with a wooden bead that holds the two sides together.
The garment won third place in the adult crochet category. Silveri also entered a small quilt and dress she made her grandaughter for Thanksgiving.
Eight-year-old Martha Schloss from Dexter entered her rabbit Saddle. Her very cute Netherland Dwarf rabbit won first place and became a rabbit champion.
“I give them food and water, I check in on them everyday,” Schloss said. “My sister (Ruth Schloss) won second place.”
Sarah Murillo from Dexter helps around the Nature’s Creation of Life Barn. Most animals in the barn are for sale and visitors have the opportunity to meet and pet them. Murillo was showing the baby rabbits to all of the kids interested and showed them how to hold one themselves.
