The Bowen Center for the Arts hosted the Fifth Annual Lunch at an Artful Table at 11:30 on Saturday, November 5, 2011. This event has become a real challenge among decorators to see how over the top each can get and who will win first prize. The event is also a great place to shop early for the holiday season. Upon arrival, people were encouraged not only to look at the tables and vote for their favorite; but also to peruse the gift shop and display tables in search of gifts, jewelry, artwork, and whatever else happened to be for sale.

A member of each creative team was asked to come up and describe the inspiration for the chosen table. Each group did its best to round up things that they had rather than spending a lot of money buying stuff, which makes the prospect of decorating a table much more appealing.

A majority of the tables this year took full advantage of the Bowens high ceilings to decorate vertically as well as at table level. Hanging from the ceiling were The Cat in the Hat on an umbrella, a bottle tree with leafy green willow branches, a full size kimono, large open-weave acorns, shiny gold stars, The Grinch in his sleigh, and Georgia and Georgia Tech football paraphernalia. Deciding which table to vote for was a real problem for most people.

In the end, there were two categories: Best Corporate Table and Best Table (those tables not sponsored by businesses). The winner in the Best Corporate Table category was Recycled Christmas sponsored by The Ric-Rack and decorated by Evelyn Koch. Everything on the table came from The Ric-Rack and was for sale at the end of the lunch.

Best Table winner was Grinch Over Gold Creek sponsored by The Ladies of Gold Creek. This table probably got the most attention for the Grinch in the sleigh over the table and the tables occupants all wearing teacups of some form on their head. The table was decorated by Jackie Somerville; who came disguised as Cindy Lou Who.

The lunch was prepared by Wayne Chelf and Peg Hoying: smoked turkey medallions, mini corn muffins, Waldorf salad, a frozen fruit cup, and a chocolate muffin/cupcake for dessert. The Dawson County High Juniorettes LEAD group provided table and drink service.

The last item on the agenda was the drawing for the excellent quilt made by the Heart in Hand Quilt Guild and donated to the Arts Council for the Quilt Raffle. Barbara Reynolds was the winner, but was not present. There were many people present who would gladly have taken it for her, but she won it and will get it when she returns to town. This is a great fundraiser for the Arts Council and the winner gets a beautiful handmade quilt for potentially a very small price.

This was a terrific event and as the clich goes, a good time was had by all. Think about attending next year and perhaps buying a raffle ticket for the quilt. Its a good time and a good cause. Pictures of the event and the tables are on the News page of the Arts Council website at dawsonarts.org.