“Sukym, Skwiyi, Sakwi, Suki, Sukee, Soque, Soquee…it has been spelled many ways since the time of the Cherokee.” This is the first sentence of the essay by John Kollock that accompanies the “Soquee River Days” painting.
SRWA launches “Soquee River Days” Contest and Book
The Soque River Watershed Association is
hosting a summer event in honor of artist John Kollock who inspired several generations with his
paintings of the natural world. The event is called “Soquee River Days”, the
title of one of Mr. Kollock's greatest paintings, and is a contest to submit stories,
artwork, poetry and photographs that depict people's experiences on the Soque
River and her feeder streams. The entire collection of photos, kids art,
oral histories and more will be featured on a website, and the best of those
bound into a book this fall which will also be titled Soquee River Days.
“The idea is to capture our community's
experiences of people and the river,” says Justin Ellis the director of the
SRWA. “The Soque River has touched the lives of every single resident of and
visitor to Habersham County in some way. We can honor two of our region’s greatest
treasures, John Kollock, and the Soque River, by sharing our experiences and
stories with one another.”
From May 1st to July 31st
submissions are encouraged in five categories, photos (both current and
historical), artwork (all forms), story (written or oral), poetry and kids art.
Each individual who makes a submission will receive a free map of the Soque
River and have their work posted on a website. In August, five winners, one in
each category, will be selected by a panel and awarded $100 and a print of
Mr. Kollock's “Soquee River Days.” Dozens of submitted works will also be
selected for publication in a hardbound book available to the public this fall. Submissions
do not have to be new, they can be from long ago, or even by artists and
individuals no longer with us. Helping to collect stories from others, such as
family and friends is also encouraged.
During the three month contest SRWA staff
will take a kayak and bicycle tour around the entire Soque Watershed, writing
stories, interviewing people and taking photographs. The purpose of the tour is
to demonstrate where the lands of the Soque Watershed are and the types of
stories and people that help shape our understanding of the landscape. Nancy
Kollock, John’s wife, described how, “once you’ve had an experience of
the river, you care more,” and in that spirit new experiences interacting with
the river this summer are encouraged.
The SRWA will begin collecting
submissions during an open house at their new offices located at 1387
Washington Street, across the street from Habersham Community Theatre on
Saturday May 17th, during the Mountain Laurel Festival, 9am to 3pm. Those with
photographs or other works you’d like to submit are encouraged to bring them to
be scanned that day and to receive a free map. Submissions will also be
accepted on a continuous basis through July 31st.
Since the event is more about sharing experiences with one
another, than about winning a contest, all submissions great and small are
encouraged. “A few years ago elementary age students drew pictures of colorful
signs that read “You are now entering the Soque River Watershed,” says Ellis.
“We put those signs up all along the foyer of our old office to inspire people.
Even though those little treasures were lost in the Clarkesville downtown fire
in March, we’re certain that the treasures that people still have in their attics,
in their minds and hearts, in their family histories and in their passion to
get out there and explore can build an incredible legacy for this River that
we’ll all be proud we helped create. It’s a chance for each of us to become a
part of Habersham history.”
Details on the contest, the book, the blog and the tour are
available at the website www.soque.org,
e-mail soque@windstream.net or call 706-754-9382.
