Image by Melissa Wilt from Pixabay
Pink and white dogwood flowers, both real and artistic, will begin filling the Lewiston-Clarkston valley, with or without the Dogwood Festival.
Out of concern for public safety, the annual April event has been postponed until July 24-26, pending further COVID-19 restrictions, but event organizers are inviting people of all ages to “Color the Valley with Dogwoods,” in a celebration of art and dogwoods.Participants may color the provided coloring page or draw dogwoods on their sidewalk using chalk. People must submit a photo of their creative work, along with their name and contact information, to be entered in a drawing for a Dogwood Festival T-shirt. Entries must be received by May 1.
Carrie Lynn Kyser
The coloring page features a design by Lewiston’s Carrie Lynn Kyser, who has a background in both landscape architecture and graphic design and currently works at Lewis-Clark State College as an instructional designer. Her design emphasizes the tree itself and features a single pink dogwood blossom.
“I’m a tree lover, so I wanted to be able to focus on that,” Kyser said.
Kyser lived in Pullman for a time before moving to Lewiston and remembers driving down to see the pink and white blossoms. It felt like she had left winter behind, she said, and suddenly arrived in springtime.
“I think it’s unique to Lewiston; they are planted profusely here,” Kyser said.
Kyser also serves as the chair of LCSC’s Arboretum Committee, which helps maintain the health of the trees on campus. If one is old or dying, the committee helps provide a replacement. LCSC is the only Idaho campus that has both an accredited arboretum — LCSC’s is a Level 1 — and is designated as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, she said.
While Kyser enjoys dogwoods, her all-time favorite tree is a Paperbark Maple. It has year-round interest with its peeling bark and fall color and is a hardy tree that can grow most anywhere in the U.S.
Color the Valley with Dogwoods
- Color the provided coloring page or download and print the image from the Dogwood Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LCValleyDogwoodFestival.
- AND/OR create your own dogwood drawings or design using chalk on your sidewalk.
- Take a picture of your page and/or sidewalk design and send it, along with the artist’s name and contact information, to the Dogwood Festival Facebook page or email the photo to cah@lcsc.edu.
- Don’t forget to hang your colored page in your window to share with friends and neighbors.
