OAKWOOD, VA (MAY 19, 2023) – The Appalachian College of Pharmacy will host the 10th annual Garden Day event Saturday, June 17.
Garden Day is billed as a celebration for the entire community. It is also celebrated as homecoming for Garden alumni. Events begin at 10 a.m. on the college’s Oakwood campus and will conclude at 4 p.m.
Special guest at this year’s event is Linda Skeens, the Virginia-Kentucky State Fair winner of first, second and third place for best cookies, who also swept all three awards for candy and for savory bread and won the blue ribbon for cake, pie, brownie, sweet bread and best overall baked goods. She also won for canned tomatoes, canned corn, pickled peppers, sauerkraut, relish, spaghetti sauce and both jelly and jam. After the fair posted the results on social media, it went viral.
Skeens, a 74-year-old grandmother from Appalachia, won 30 ribbons in all. Now, after decades of cooking for her family and competing in county fair cookoffs, she’s not only Internet famous, but has been celebrated across the country for her mouthwatering, downhome dishes. Her award-winning recipes and family stories are being published for the first time ever in a new book, “Blue Ribbon Cooking: Recipes and Tips from America’s Favorite County Fair Champion.” The book features more than 30 of her prize-winning recipes and 70 other family-favorite dishes.
Skeens will be offering the book for sale and signing copies of it at Garden Day.
An opening ceremony at 11 a.m. will recognize former Garden alumni. Additionally, a plaque recognizing the old Garden Elementary School location on the campus will be dedicated. That ceremony will take place in the college’s lower parking lot.
Bingo will be ongoing during the day in the multi-task area of McGlothlin Hall. Bill Crigger will be calling the games which feature prizes for the winners.
This year’s Garden Day event will also feature Free health screenings provided by ACP, music, crafts, authors, woodworking, a kid’s train and bounce house. Healing Hydration will be on site to offer IV infusions, injections and patches. No appointment is necessary.
Food trucks on site will include LouLou’s Ice Cream Parlor, Eat with Otis, Spuddin’ Around and The Food Dude.
Admission and parking for this year’s event is free.
Garden Day is co-sponsored by the Appalachian College of Pharmacy and the Garden Alumni Association.
For more information, interested persons may call Wanda Vance at 276-498-4190. The Appalachian College of Pharmacy is the only three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 2003, the college accepted its first students in 2005. It is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Its mission is to cultivate a learning community committed to education, community outreach and the professional development of pharmacists. Its graduate pharmacists are now practicing throughout the United States.
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