At right: Annegret Goehring at a reception in her honor at the Les Cheneaux Historical Museum Sunday, July 27. In 1975, two years before the Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show began, Annegret Goehring helped create the Festival of Arts. This year, the community is recognizing her contribution and dedication to the event that helps draw hundreds of residents and visitors to the Les Cheneaux Islands each August by naming her the boat show's guest of honor. The Festival of Arts takes place with the boat show Saturday, August 9, in Hessel.

Soft spoken, the German-born Mrs. Goehring uses the word "we" when talking about the festival, her museum work, and her art. Considered by others one of the integral founders of the event, Mrs. Goehring prefers to talk about the work over the years in terms of others' contributions. She points out she is a member of a festival committee, one of many volunteers, and was an artistic partner with her late husband, Gordon.

The festival began at the boat docks in Hessel, she recalls, with about 12 local artists who sought a way to market their art. The water, and the view of the Islands with boats sailing past, added to the ambiance of the show, she said, and created a perfect setting to draw people to that first Festival of Arts, to buy art, and mingle with friends and visitors.

"The setting and atmosphere was so nice," she said, "we just never worried about people not coming."

Mrs. Goehring's husband was a potter who usually had a spot in the show. She often decorated some of the pieces with graphic designs. The festival, she remembers, was always a success.

"Before we knew it," she said, "we had sold the work we had."

Each year, her husband would make trivets to sell and she would decorate them. She received her art training in Kiel, Germany, where she studied design and bookbinding at an art and trade school. The design she crafted for the trivets would change annually and soon the pottery pieces became collector's items. Her designs would have something to do with the show, she said, depicting a boat, or a flower. The trivets and other pieces of pottery her husband created were made with local clay. The couple found an old glacial lake bed, where they would clear away the topsoil and collect the clay hidden beneath.

Today, she practices the art of scissor cutting. Called "scherenschnitt," it is a centuries-old European art of cutting paper images or silhouettes that are presented on white or colored paper.

Through the years, Mrs. Goehring has volunteered countless hours to help plan and organize the festival and she has served on the committee that chooses the artists who exhibit at the show. The show draws artisans from other communities and a local committee reviews applications to determine who meets the criteria to exhibit their artwork.

"We expect the work to be original," she said, "and up to a certain standard. We're trying to make people realize that this is a fine art event."

Artists seeking a booth in the show must supply three slides of the art and a slide of the proposed booth. Space allows the committee to select about 70 artists.

The Festival of Arts, said Mrs. Goehring, also recognizes the craftsmanship and originality of an artist at the show each year. The award is given in memory of Darcy Danz, a local jewelry designer who died of breast can- cer a few years ago. Mrs. Danz was an important supporter of the festival, the boat show, and the Les Cheneaux Historical Museum.

"The Festival of Arts is a large part of the boat show," said Barb Smith, this year's chair of the event.

"Our boat show committee wanted to honor Annegret as the guest of honor of the 2008 boat show because of her dedicated efforts on the Festival of Arts committee for over 33 years," said Mrs. Smith. "Annegret has worked tirelessly over the years to ensure the success of the Festival of Arts. Annegret has volunteered her energy and time for many years and the committee felt it appropriate to recognize her accomplishments. In addition to her many accomplishments as curator of the Historical Association and her many years of service to the community, Annegret always found time to get her committee of jurors together to bring quality artists to the show."

After 20 years of service, Mrs. Goehring retired as curator of the Les Cheneaux Historical Museum in January. For more than 30 years, she has been involved with the Historical Association as both curator and volunteer. A community open house was held in Mrs. Goehring's honor in July to recognize her work with the historical museum and association, and for her years of serving the community as a volunteer.

This year, she continues her work for the Festival of Arts, both as a volunteer and as an exhibitor. At the Festival of Arts, she will be found sharing a booth with her daughter, Carolena Saunders of Virginia, who makes jewelry.