A huge thank you to everyone who came out last Friday to share in our annual Arts in the Garden community event. We had a gorgeous day to admire the talents of all of those who came out to showcase their work! Arts in the Garden is Skyland Trail’s chance to open our doors to the community–and we are so thankful to all of you who stopped by.

Be sure to check out the photos in our “photo gallery” ! We’re already getting excited for next year.

"Croc" pots made by clients were for sale

Horticultural Intern Lisa helps out with a workshop

T-shirt designer Jason shows off his art with Mark West, Chairmen of the Board of Directors

Some of the fabulous art that was on display and for sale

What a great reminder for Arts in the Garden—gorgeous photos of our campus and our beautiful flowers! These scenes were caputured by one of our clients and our horticultural intern Bryan Crook. If you haven’t been here recently to see all of our flowers in bloom, next Friday’s Arts in the Garden is a great opportunity to come check it out. We hope to see you there!

By now, I hope most of you already have May 6th on the calendar for this year’s Arts in the Garden. If not, be sure to write it down, put it on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone–we want to see you here!

This free community event showcases all the differnt abilities we have to offer- arts, music, crafts, horticulture… there will be plenty to do and see! And, as always, great art, plants and other items for purchase (my office is full of great stuff for the Treasure Sale).

So far we’ve got 36 art vendors signed up to be showing off their talents. We’ve also got a full lineup of musicians and animals who will be stopping by to perform.

This year’s AITG promises to be the best yet. And it will be even better if you join us. We’ll be celebrating our “Collective Spirit” from 9:30-3:00.
I can’t wait to see you there,

Shelley Danser

Adjunctive Therapies Coordinator

We hope you can join us!

Photo by Skyland Trail Client Rachel O.

Check out these great pictures—doesn’t that get you in the mood for spring? And of course spring means….Arts in the Garden!

We’re excited to announce our plans for this year’s Arts in the Garden community event which will be held Friday, May 6 here on the Skyland Trail campus. The theme is ‘Collective Spirits,’ which highlights how we come together as a community to celebrate the special talents we all have.  For those of you unfamiliar with Arts in the Garden (AITG), I’d like to provide you with some details about what has become one of our favorite days of the year here at Skyland Trail.

This will be our 13th annual Arts in the Garden, and with each passing year, the event continues to grow in popularity.  Held each May during Mental Health Awareness month, AITG serves as an opportunity to celebrate the many talents and abilities of consumers of mental health services, and is a great place for consumers, family members, mental health professionals and the Atlanta community to gather and network.  The day is filled with festivities throughout the Skyland Trail gardens for everyone to enjoy.  Attendees experience hands-on workshops, make & take classes, demonstrations, art exhibits, music and dance performances, plant and art sales, a silent auction, and mental health education.  AITG also aim’s to educate the public about mental illness in order to reduce stigma. 

Skyland Trail clients, as well as community organizations and consumers of mental health services in the Atlanta area, have an opportunity to show their creative talents through visual and performing arts.  This very special day has 500-plus participants and is recognized by the mental health community.  We invite everyone to come experience this wonderful day with us at Skyland Trail. 

The event is free and open to the public.  We hope to see you there!

Photo by Skyland Trail Client Rachel O.

Mark your calendars and be sure to join us for this great event. Our pastoral counseling program teams up with our adjunctive therapy program to bring you this inspiring community worship focused on “Intentional Rest.” It’s also a time for us to thank all of our Skyland Trail Volunteers.

Hope to see you there,
Shelley Danser

Skyland Trail clients (on the right) working with students

Next Friday, a group of Skyland Trail clients will be representing Skyland Trail at the Southeastern Flower Show, which is from Friday, February 25^th through Sunday.

The theme this year is ”In Tune with Blooms” and we’ll be making huge contributions…in tune with our spirit of giving back to the community.

Clients in our horticultural therapy program have been working hard to make fairy homes…and will be at the Flower Show to lead an interactive display on Friday at 4pm. Susie Sherrill and Libba Shortridge will give a talk titled:  “Fairy Gardening:  In Tune with Nature” at the Demo Stage on Sunday, February 27^th at 3:30pm.

Clients were at Coan Middle School with Libba yesterday to help students with Fairy Gardening and to be filmed for a segment on WSB–which airs this Sunday at 6:30am.

Take a look at the pictures below- we are so excited about all the fairy homes!

Shelley Danser

Coordinator of Adjunctive Therapies

Libba leads clients at Coan Middle School

Getting taped by WSB One of our Fairy Homes, resting in a tree

With all the running around that comes during this time of year, it’s important we all take a few minutes to relax and simply enjoy the holiday season. Here are a few tips to destress and make the most of your downtime:

• Take a stroll through the woods, park or a lovely neighborhood
• Sip hot tea on the front porch
• Afternoon nap on a weekend afternoon
• Snuggle with your pet
• Run around and play hard with your children
• Take a few moments just to sit in silence and reflect

We hope each and every one of you has a safe and happy holiday and a wonderful New Year!

If you’re out and about in Sandy Springs this Saturday, be sure to stop by the Farmer’s Market and visit Skyland Trail’s booth there!

Just in time for the holidays, we will have a booth showcasing clients’ artwork at the Sandy Springs Farmer’s Market this Saturday, December 18th from 10am-2pm.  We were very fortunate to be offered a booth for free at this special event.

Please share your support by telling your family & friends about this event.

Sandy Springs Farmers Market is located at 235 Sandy Springs Cir NE, Sandy Springs 30328

(north of 285 and west of Roswell Rd, in the former Target parking lot)