CRESTVIEW — Wielding a pitchfork and a spade, Crestview Area Sister City Program member Montavius Diamond and French intern Théo Toulat from the University of Nantes created their own version of Grant Wood’s iconic 1930 painting, “American Gothic.”
The guys called theirs, “Franco-American Gothic.”
Then it was back to work, as they and 10 other program and Dogwood Garden Club volunteers turned Black Kow fertilizer into the soil in 80 feet of planters flanking the North West Florida State College Bob Sikes Education Center portico.
The planters are part of the center’s terrace that will become the Jardin de Noirmoutier to be dedicated Oct. 22 in honor of the college and city’s Sister City relationship with Noirmoutier, France.
Saturday morning’s work followed a Friday afternoon effort by students from the college’s African American Student Association and Sikes Center Director Dr. Patrice Williams-Shuford, who toted and dumped heavy bags of Black Kow into the planters.
“It is wonderful that this is such a collaborative effort,” Williams-Shuford said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Community helps prepare Crestview Sister City garden (PHOTOS, VIDEO)