While the skies outside were grey and cloudy, the décor and atmosphere inside Southwestern Michigan College’s Mathews Conference Center was bright and vibrant Thursday morning.

The local community college hosted the Michigan Garden Clubs District III Fall meeting that day, with 211 members of garden clubs from throughout southwest Michigan packing the inside of the library building. All but five of the 35 clubs throughout the district were represented at the annual gathering, from nearby communities like Niles and Buchanan to those as far as Kalamazoo.

In addition to conducting district wide business in the morning hours, attendees were given presentations by Fernwood’s Wendy Jones and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s Andy Jackson. They also had the opportunity to visit the booths of local artists and crafters that were invited to participate in the event, setting up shop on the opposite end of the conference center.

Present throughout the venue that day were the nearly 40 members of Dowagiac’s Town and Country and Wabigon garden clubs, who were present at each table throughout the morning to assist other attendees. Many of them had been working to setup up the venue since 6 a.m. that morning as well.

The two clubs have been working together for more than a year to organize the event. Wabigon Club President Kathy Casey reached out to her Town and Country counterparts last year to see if they would be interested in joining forces to put together the annual district gathering, something Dowagiac has not hosted in decades.

“If we’re already in the same town, we should do something like this together,” Casey said.

Helping Casey lead the efforts to put on the event was Town and Country President Kathy Johnson, who noted it was the first time the two had worked together on a project such as this.

“It’s been unique and gratifying to work together,” Johnson said. “It’s really unusual, but it worked out really well.”

The two leaders were also thankful for the support they’ve received from the community for the event, with local businesses donating items for the 34 door prizes given away that day. They also praised SMC for the support they’ve given them throughout the planning process.

“They’ve really bent over backwards for us,” Casey said.