HBBC participated in the 8th Annual Tree Lighting sponsored by the Town of Holden Beach. Members provided a gorgeous spread of goodies for the cake walk. This month’s Yard of the Month was also tied in with the festivities. Visit our YOM page to see Dwight and Becky Willis’ holiday lighting.
The holiday season is in full swing on Holden Beach! The Seasonal Decorations Committee has outdone themselves with festive décor around the island. Committee Chair Cecelia Weston made the hats and bridles for the herons and Eve Venters remade the wreaths for Town Hall. Committee members donated greens for other areas. Make a point to drive by at night, the lights are gorgeous! Thank you ladies!
Seasonal Decorations Committee members Karen Fleischhauer, Cecelia Weston (chair), Donna Aycock and Connie Jo Boyte join President Gayle Todd on the Town Hall steps.
HBBC members enjoyed 
a traditional Thanksgiving feast with Turkey and all the trimmings at our November meeting.
Friends and loved ones joined members as well as guests Mayor Alan Holden, Town Manager David Hewett and his wife, Cindy.
Members brought their favorite dishes and 
desserts to share and hostesses Ann Landis (Chairman), Lindy Collinson, Connie Price, Carla Payne, Judy Brock and Peggy Schiavone provided decorations and drinks to go along with the two turkeys supplied by Gina Martin.
As the meeting was on Veterans’ Day, vets were recognized for their service. The luncheon also honored the memory of Tom Decker, husband of Member Jane Decker who passed away earlier that day.
The town-sponsored “Boo at the Beach” held Friday, October 30 was a big success! Hundreds of kids of all ages attended the event and the booths by local merchants, organizations and the town departments were great! There was a costume judging contest for the children. Each booth provided a game for the kids to play and gave out candy and other treats. Gina Martin, Treasurer of HBBC, chaired the Club’s booth.
The members helping and shown in the picture are from left to right, Cecelia Weston, Gayle Todd, Donna Aycock, Joann Burke, Gina Martin, Janice Shaeffer and Becky Greene. In addition to the members that set up the booth and worked at the event, many other members contributed candy to give away.
The gardens on Holden Beach received their winter color this week. Over 1600 flowers and other cool weather plants were added to Padgett Garden, Town Hall, Pocket Park and the Butterfly Garden. Becky Greene, Chairman of the Landscaping Committee, along with HBBC members Donna Aycock, Joann Burke, Carol Colclough, Karen Fleischhauer, Gina Martin, Fran Pompeii, Linda Rast, Patricia Schwaiger, Janice Shaeffer, Gayle Todd and Cecelia Weston helped with the planting. Also helping were Tim Gibble, husband of member Susan Gibble and Tom Burke, husband of member Joann Burke.
Thank you to our dedicated members and their spouses who have made the darker days of winter a little brighter for all of us!
The Holden Beach Beautification Club hosted a very successful booth at Festival By the Sea this past weekend. Congratulations to the Arts Committee for a job well done!
Calendars are still available. Below are a few of the beautiful photos included. Calendars can be purchased from HBBC members or online here. 
One of Creative Cascades’ beautiful water features.
Josh Rickards and part of his slideshow of past projects.
At the October meeting of the Holden Beach Beautification Club Josh Rickards, owner of Creative Cascades in Wilmington showed members how to add a water feature to their yard that also harvests and stores rainwater. Josh shared a slideshow of some of his beautiful creations with the group.
A small feature for a home garden can be made for $300 to $500 and a large commercial one can cost $25,000 or more. He also talked about better methods of capturing rainwater which can be used not only for the fountain but for other household water needs. He uses this type of underground method when designing and building the water features. This makes the water features both beautiful and environmentally friendly.
The Club is getting ready for Festival By the Sea. The Art Committee has created some gorgeous pieces to sell and club members are needed to man the booth during the weekend.
Hostesses for the meeting were Carol Ann Lohman, Jane Decker, Alice Polo, Pam Burris and Judy Brock.
Get out your gloves! It is time to plant fall flowers. Over 100 flats of flowers have been ordered and will be added to Padgett Garden, Town Hall, Pocket Park and the Butterfly Garden in the next few weeks. Contact Becky Greene if you are available to help plant or pick up flowers. Residents and visitors should get ready for beautiful fall color all around the Island!
Upcoming activities include Boo at the Beach, the Thanksgiving Luncheon and the December Field Trip to Brookgreen Garden’s Night of a Thousand Candles.
Be sure to stop by the Holden Beach Beautification Club’s booth at Festival By the Sea this weekend, October 24-25.
Our famous calendars are in and you can pick one up! Each year Beautification Club members collect their most beautiful photos of the Holden Beach area for the annual calendar. The very best are selected for the calendar which is professionally produced in limited quantities each fall. The calendars are collectible, and are also popular holiday gifts.
In addition, check out our booth for some wonderful artwork from the talented HBBC ladies. All artwork is handmade locally. There will be Pallet Art, Wooden Cut-outs, concrete plaques and a return of the very popular garden Lady Bugs!
Best of all, all proceeds from our booth go to fund the club and our mission to beautify the public garden areas of Holden Beach.
Set of three concrete, shell-shaped plaques
Set of four concrete garden ladybugs
Painted, wooden seahorse wall art. Our booth will feature many different shapes, not just seahorses.
Handmade, painted wood pallet art
The Holden Beach Beautification Club celebrated 25 years at the September Meeting. President Gayle Todd welcomed special guests including Mayor Alan Holden, Town Manager David Hewett, GCNC District 11 Director Gloria Degnan and past HBBC presidents and members of the club.
Town Manager David Hewett read a resolution adopted by the town commissioners recognizing the club’s 25th anniversary and its service to the community. HBBC works with the town on the design and maintenance of the public gardens and areas on the island.
Past presidents shared their memories of the earlier days of the club and some brought memorabilia to add to the club’s history.
President Todd recognized our Golden Gardeners and past presidents with a yellow rose. Golden Gardeners are members who have been a member for 15 or more years. The hostesses provided a lavish buffet including a cake celebrating 25 years.
The next meeting of the club will be October 14. If you are not a member and live or own property on the island, consider joining us! Email HBBC for more information.
Summer may be winding down, but there is still a lot fun happening on the island!
The Town has offered HBBC the opportunity to sell tickets for the 50/50 raffle at the August 30 Summer Concert featuring Sea Cruz. HBBC gets to keep a portion of the proceeds. Funds raised will be used to enable HBBC to continue our work on the island. So come enjoy a great band and support a great cause! Concerts start at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!
Holden Beach Beautification Club 