Theme

The Winchester Music Club, which is affiliated with the National and Kentucky Federation of Music Clubs, met Tuesday evening, Nov. 13, at the First Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Homer Ledford, president, presided at the meeting and welcomed guests. “Parade of American Music” was the theme for the meeting. The club sang “For the Beauty of the Earth” with Bill Cooper as accompanist. Vicky Welch was the program sponsor and presented a beautiful program of Broadway musicals. Vicky, her son Brian Welch and Corey Chapman were soloists.

CAMP DICK - The theme of Garrard County Earth Day Festival Saturday fashion show this year is "Recycled Derby Hats. " Special guests who will strut their stuff on the runway include several princesses and queens, including: Katie Himes, Miss Kentucky Teen America; Caitlin Carrier, Kentucky's Little Miss; and Chloe Wesley, Kentucky's Tiny Miss. Hailey Hockensmith, Leslie Worley, Kayla Hockensmith and Adrianna Napier also will show off their work. Everyone will have an opportunity to create hats at the festival if they come a little early, or can make one at home.

The Winchester Elks Lodge invites the public to “A Kentucky Christmas.” A partnership between the Elks and Winchester First will bring changes to the annual downtown Christmas parade, and Elks members hope the community will support the 2011 Kentucky-themed event at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. “I remember when I was a kid, that was the big event of the year,” Jon Tuttle, a trustee at the local lodge, said. The Elks will organize the event and provide $500 in sponsorship money.

Advocate-Messenger chief photographer Clay Jackson is creating an online community of photographers and is asking for your help. Jackson has started Snaps, a photo blog featuring photographers' work based on a common theme each month. Photographers can submit up to five photos each month. This month's theme is "dogs. " If you have some favorite pooch photos, check out Snaps and learn how to submit them.

Winners of the Great American Brass Band Festival awards for table decor at the Saturday night picnic were: Sousa Best of Show Award — John and Martha Caywood of Danville. The theme of the winning table was “This Little Piggy Goes to the Brass Band Fesitval.” The criterion used in judging was that the winning table “stand out above all others.” Big Easy Main Street Award — Wheelmen of Plainfield, Ind. The theme of the winning table was “Wheeling Brass Band.

John and Martha Caywood took the Best of Show Sousa Award Sunday at the Great American Brass Band Festival. The prize went to the picnic table that "stands out above all others. " The theme was "The Beat Goes On. " The picnic was held Sunday after rain canceled it Saturday night. Other winners included: Jim Morris with his "America Sparkle" table that featured An American Celebration, for the table that depicts a favorite tradition. Katie Jo Kirkpatrick won the Best Band Festival Theme with her "Stars and Stripes Forever" theme.

If you have photos that are 25 years old, we'd like to display them on Looking Back. Please identify people in the photo and include any pertinent information. The theme for December through January is basketball teams. Submit by e-mail to newsclerk@amnews.com and add the photo as a jpg attachment or call Brenda S. Edwards at (859) 236-2551, ext. 352. The February theme is winter scenes. Please submit photos by Jan. 19.

Advocate Messenger chief photographer Clay Jackson is still seeking submissions for his new photo blog, Snaps. Snaps is a community site, one where photographers can gather and check out each other's work. It features photos based around a theme each month. This month, the theme is "dogs. " Staff writer Liz Maples also is seeking help for a new blog. She is looking for local high school students to blog for a week on Figg Alley. This week on Figg Alley, Lincoln County High School sophomore Rob Hacker is eating such culinary delights as pigs feet and writing about the experience.

The Winchester Music Club, which is affiliated with the National and Kentucky Federation of Music Clubs, met Tuesday evening, Nov. 13, at the First Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Homer Ledford, president, presided at the meeting and welcomed guests. “Parade of American Music” was the theme for the meeting. The club sang “For the Beauty of the Earth” with Bill Cooper as accompanist. Vicky Welch was the program sponsor and presented a beautiful program of Broadway musicals. Vicky, her son Brian Welch and Corey Chapman were soloists.

Everyone has been pitching in to spruce-up Danville for the long-awaited vice-presidential debate at Centre College, and the Community Arts Center is no exception. Drive down Main Street and you will see the product of their efforts - a bold and colorful mural featuring patriotic equines and pachyderms cavorting down the Gilcher building's windows. While the mural helps get everyone in the debate spirit and dresses up a high-traffic section of Main Street, the temporary mural goes beyond the debate, or even the election.

If you like a chance to discuss Kentucky football or basketball, or any local sports, then make sure to listen to WHIR-AM (1230) and WHBN-AM (1420) on Thursday when former UK¿center Dave Hopewell and I resume our college football-oriented talk show. We will be on from 6 to 7 p.m. each Thursday during the football season to look ahead to upcoming Kentucky¿games as well as the top local sports stories each week. We will have special guests - former Wildcat quarterback Freddie Maggard will be in studio Aug. 23 and future UK¿Hall of Famer Derek Abney will join us Aug. 30 to discuss Kentucky-Louisville - and an open line to take your calls.

Tabernacle Baptist Church, located at  2420 Lexington Road, held its annual Vacation Bible School July 9-12. The VBS's theme was “Rescued from the Flames.” More than 50 volunteer workers helped make the VBS possible as 150 children, ages 4 through teenagers, attended. Twelve children accepted Christ as their savior during the VBS. During the VBS, children experienced music, games and food, along with candy, prizes and certificates of recognition. On the final night, members of the Nicholasville Fire Department made an appearance with their ladder truck.

Music instructor Jacqueline Kohl believes there is nothing quite as fun as getting groups of people together to sing. For years, Kohl, who owns and operates Winchester's Cardinal Music Conservatory, has encouraged her students to share their music with the community, and not just through traditional recitals. Cardinal Music Conservatory students often perform concerts at Rose Mary C. Brooks Place, a local assisted living community, and activities director June Sparks noticed how much the residents seemed to enjoy the music.

One of Danville's newer businesses has raised eyebrows with some of its risqué offerings, but the owners say they are providing a legal and less seedy alternative to similar stores elsewhere. Behind Closed Doors, which opened at 800 Finn Hill Drive in January, sells a number of adult novelties, lingerie and items some would describe as sex toys, along with band posters, T-shirts and other items. A large part of the store's inventory also includes a variety of pipes for smoking tobacco.

FORKLAND - The annual tea held here the day before Mother's Day this year will have an “angelic garden” theme. Tea organizer Kathy Coyle said the decor will feature angels, waterfalls and plants. Longtime Forkland resident Doris Purdom has created 10 homemade angels, Coyle said. “They are very pretty,” Coyle said of Purdom's creations, which will decorate the community center. “She did an excellent job.” Coyle said she decides on a theme based on simple criteria, mainly what decorations are readily.  This year's menu also reflects the angel theme.

A community reading program will have local readers learning more about the outdoors and the history of Kentucky hiking trails, as well as cooking Appalachian-themed treats. One Book One Bluegrass 2012 encourages everyone in central Kentucky to read and discuss the same book, and counties participating include Clark, Fayette, Bourbon, Madison and Woodford. This year, readers will be reading “A Walk in the Woods” with author Bill Bryson. The Clark County Public Library will host seven programs in April in conjunction with the event.

The Winchester Elks Lodge invites the public to “A Kentucky Christmas.” A partnership between the Elks and Winchester First will bring changes to the annual downtown Christmas parade, and Elks members hope the community will support the 2011 Kentucky-themed event at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. “I remember when I was a kid, that was the big event of the year,” Jon Tuttle, a trustee at the local lodge, said. The Elks will organize the event and provide $500 in sponsorship money.

Members of the Fountain Circle Health and Rehabilitation executive council, seated from left, Jean Claybourne, Connie Hicks and Flora Donahoe listen as Winchester Mayor Ed Burtner reads a proclamation designating October as National Long-Term Care Residents' Rights Month. Joining them were, back row from left, Nursing Home Agency of the Bluegrass Ombudsman Gene Layne, Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham and Robert Hollins, Fountain Circle executive director, right. The theme for the month is ”Welcome home: Creating connections between residents and the community.” The residents council and Fountain Circle will be hosting a residents rights family night on Oct. 13 beginning at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public.