Canada Blooms is the largest annual flower and garden show in the nation. Produced by the Garden Club of Toronto and Landscape Ontario, Canada Blooms directs its proceeds to educational and civic-improvement projects that add value and beauty to Ontario communities.
Canada Blooms 2006 has just concluded, and three Conestoga College students, members of an eight-student team from the Retail Florist program, returned with honours from the 16th annual Intercollege Floral Design Competition. In all, four colleges participated -- Conestoga, Algonquin, Mohawk and Seneca.
Heather Brodland won second place in the theme design event, Hanna Nowak took third place in the same event and Dawn Penrose-Woodruff took third-place honours in the wedding bouquet competition. All three winners are Waterloo residents, and each received an award ribbon and certificate. Meghan McMahon of Cambridge earned honourable mention in the wedding bouquet event.
The competitions were based on the theme of this year's Canada Blooms: An Urban Mosaic. In each event, each competing student received the same assortment of flowers and materials, and each event was timed, with a maximum of two hours allowed to create and complete the product.
Since first entering competitions in 2002, Retail Florist students have never failed to bring home at least one award.
Also participating as members of Conestoga's Canada Blooms delegation were students Tina Riddell of Kitchener in the wedding bouquet event and Angela Hartman of Waterloo in the theme design event. Alternate team members were Henrieke Grift of Fergus and Carla MacArthur of Stratford.
Retail Florist is a part-time program that combines floral knowledge with design and business skills. It features six required courses, one elective and two periods of workplace experience.
CONTACT: Gillian Oldfield, 519-748-5220, ext. 3634, goldfield@conestogac.on.ca