| Clare Gorski, from left, Julie Lindsey, Mary Harman and Luella Smith. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune) |
PERRYSBURG – For a quarter century, the Country Garden Club has brought exclusive vendors of select
clothing, plus accessories, gifts, and home and garden accents to Perrysburg for its annual three-day
extravaganza, attracting more than 1,200 shoppers. This year, the Holiday Trunk Show celebrates its 25th
anniversary by showcasing over 25 custom retailers from across the country.
The 2011 show takes place at the Carranor Hunt and Polo Club, 502 E. Second St., next Tuesday and
Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday night’s highlight will be "Champagne and Shopping" with a cash bar from 5:30 to 8:30
p.m.
Admission is $5 both days, with tickets available from CGC members or at the door. There is also a $10
luncheon available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Attendees will use the new entrance on the east side of the building, to be marked by balloons.
A Holiday Trunk Show Preview Party and dinner will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at Carranor. Tickets are $40,
which also includes regular admission each day. Reservations are needed for the dinner. For tickets,
email: TrunkShow [email protected].
What makes this annual event – the only one of its kind in Northwest Ohio – so special is that all
proceeds fund area beautification, landscape and conservation projects.
Over the years the Country Garden Club has provided more than $400,000 in funding for community projects,
including launching the City of Perrysburg’s curbside recycling program. This fall it expands the effort
by providing equipment and initial Saturday staffing for drop-off cardboard recycling at city property
on South Boundary St.
The CGC also provides the downtown holiday decorations and hanging baskets each summer. It funded the Way
Public Library landscaping and reading patio; the W.W. Knight Nature Center Educational Lab; landscaping
for the Perrysburg Heights Community Center; "Veggi-U," an educational program for elementary
schools, and the Gateways gardens by the Maumee-Perrysburg Bridge and on Routes 20 and 25.
"The Trunk Show is our primary fund-raiser, with local projects benefiting through the club’s
contributions," noted Clare Gorski, chairperson of the 2011 show.
Committee members expect this silver anniversary show to be the best ever.
"This year’s special attractions include the participation of two prominent national artists who
grew up in Perrysburg, painter Michael Ives of Arizona and Hawaii, and jewelry designer Suzanne Q. Evon
of North Carolina," Gorski said.
Ives is also an artist-in-residence this fall at the 577 Foundation.
"We feature wonderful new home decor and garden vendors this year, such as Distinguished Manors, of
Chicago, and Nest Home Garden & Gift of Grand Rapids, Mich."
Popular returning vendors include:
• Sarah Oliver purses of Mill Valley, Calif., a big hit of the 2010 trunk show, with elegant felted wool
purses knitted by senior citizens;
• Sissy Pie Originals, of Columbus, with top-quality children’s clothing;
• Liza Byrd Boutique, of Owings Mills, Md., offering novelty women’s and children’s clothing, plus
accessories; and
• Just Girls, of Troy, Mich., last year’s top seller, featuring affordably luxurious, upscale
contemporary women’s and junior apparel, shoes and boots.
Country Garden Club is a member of the Garden Club of America.
