Where do I begin to tell you all what a wonderful event this was! There were four of us who drove up together – Barbara McDermott, Valerie Martinell, Susan Sullivan and I. And believe me, we talked gourds all the way up and all the way back – LOL.

We actually went a day early and spent the night in Cambria – did a little rock hounding and driftwood searching on Moonstone Beach.

We got to Asilomar just in time for the patch leaders’ meeting. It was great to see everyone again and to meet our new board. We had some very informative exchanges and a fun iris folding project was taught.

Meals are always good at Asilomar and I tried to sit somewhere different every meal so I could meet and talk with as many gourders as possible. I also met some interesting people from other groups who were using the facilities there. Many didn’t know what a gourd was, so they were very interested in seeing what could be done with them.

Friday evening we had a welcome meeting. There was an excellent Power Point presentation on gourds by Susan Sullivan and Kemper Stone gave a show about his gourd camp. What fun that looks to be! We also had a reception with Queen Jill and her court and had an exchange of artist trading cards.

Welburn Gourd Farm and Leiser’s Gourd Farm had wonderful gourds and supplies available all weekend. I just had to buy a few more gourds – even though my shed is about to burst now.

On Saturday, after breakfast, there were many classes to take during the day. I took one class in the morning with Diana Rookstool. Many people took afternoon classes as well, but after lunch I chose to go to the play room and work on some unfinished projects I had brought along. There were a few of us there who just did our own thing and chatted. Very relaxing.

After the classes were over, there was a teachers’ sale where one could purchase art from the teachers or more supplies. That’s always a popular event.

After dinner we had the evening program. What a rousing time that was! We started with introductions, then a wearable gourds contest. I enjoyed participating in that and seeing all the items other artists were wearing. It was crazy and fun and set the mood for the rest of the evening. There were many items donated for the raffle, and up for auction, and people were on the edge of their seats hoping to win something special. All the people in my group won something in the raffle, so we felt elated by evening’s end. The auction was a great success, I think, and it’s always fun to bid, even when you know you’re going to be outbid before it’s over.

Following the evening’s festivities, several people who had made beautiful gourd lanterns lit them up and took a stroll along the boardwalk in the moonlight. We got some wonderful comments from other guests staying at Asilomar, and the lanterns really glowed. We even spotted a deer waiting at the end of the boardwalk. And as I was going back to my room, four ladies were standing outside their room commenting that there was the biggest raccoon they had ever seen who just wandered into their open door. They had to shoo him out of the room.

On Sunday, after breakfast, we attended the CGS members’ flea market. Everyone got to come home with even more stuff. Who could complain?

Then to end the event, there were several discussion groups to attend. More wonderfully useful information shared. Then lunch and goodbyes.

I’m sure sorry this was the last event there, but am looking forward to the “Baskets and Gourds: Containers of our Culture III” on April 17th and 18th, 2010, in Visalia. And of course, there are the many gourd festivals coming up all over the country. I know I’ll be at Leiser’s and Welburn’s, but would really like to make some of the ones on the East Coast this year, too. So….if you haven’t been to a gourd event yet, put one on your calendar and GO!