Byblos, 15 Dec, 2016
Winter has finally arrived in Lebanon, and with it some seasonal magic.
As night fell, the Old Souk in Byblos twinkled with lights and laughter – and the Alice Eddé boutique was at the heart of it all. A Christmas wreath-making workshop and competition was underway and the spirit of Christmas was very apparent!
In aid of Help & Heal, a charity that supports underprivileged children in Lebanon, 25 contestants – both young and old were busily gluing, weaving, threading and adorning evergreen branches with recycled items to create stunning, festive wreaths.
The brief was to create an ‘upcycled’ wreath under the watchful guidance of Debbie Malek. Starting with a base of twisted grape vines, evergreen branches from the Eddé gardens were embellished with items that would otherwise have been discarded: dried orange slices, gilded acorns, pine cones, cinnamon bark sticks and star anise, corks, ribbons, baubles of Christmas ‘past’, and one inventive attendee even managed to incorporate a Lego crèche!
As local and international guests nibbled on spiced cookies washed down with hot local apple cider, and Christmas music helped them whistle while they worked, the judges readied themselves to make a tough decision.
Judged by Cesar Namour (of MACAM), Charlotte Hamaoui (of Turning Point Books) and Melissa Khoury (of LAU), who was helped by her little daughter,
the winners were:
1st place: Christelle Akoury
2nd place: Baria Ahmar
3rd place: 6-year old Théa Ghanem
A truly unique and special event that helped bring Christmas cheer to all in the Old Souk that evening, as well as the children benefitting from Help & Heal.