OKMULGEE – The Mvskoke Nation Youth Services (MNYS) is hosting a Mother’s Day bouquet-making workshop on Tuesday, May 5, at their department from 6 – 8 p.m. While classes are currently full, they do have a waitlist for those who want to pre-register. This is open to all Mvskoke citizens between the ages of 12-24. Participants can bring one honored guest, such as a mother, grandmother, or aunt. A meal will also be provided for everyone to enjoy.
The idea for a bouquet workshop came from MNYS Digital and Social Media Coordinator, Ticara Turner (Mvskoke), and her co-worker, who wanted to offer more classes every month in the community. For May, they decided to hold the Mother’s Day Bouquet Workshop.
During the workshop, Turner believes that it will be a great bonding experience for the families. “It’s just a chance for them to bond, to work on something hands-on and with crafts. So it’s just a great bonding experience,” Turner said.
Their department is excited to host this workshop, and this will also be their first time hosting an activity like this. Turner shared that the workshop filled up within the first day.
“It just shows us that our community is looking for something like this, and again, just to be able to get our parents involved with our activities with our youth. It means a lot that we’re able to provide these types of opportunities and events for our citizens and our youth,” Turner said.
During the workshop, Turner will give a presentation on the importance of matriarchs, including caring for the women in their lives and honoring and respecting them.
“When I think about big moments in my life, when I’ve received flowers, they’ve almost always been from women, like for graduations, birthdays, and anniversaries. What I really enjoyed is not only the gift of receiving an arrangement but also being able to give one and being able to give those to the people in my life,” Turner said.
Turner will also be teaching the class. She spoke about a workshop she did last year and enjoyed seeing the other people around her making different arrangements. This later turned into a hobby of hers.
“I really enjoy being able to make my own and being able to give those to the people in my life. Arrangements can be expensive, but you can also go find flowers like out in the field, you can find them in grocery stores, and it’s very easy to do at home, too. So we’re just giving them that kind of experience and tools to do that,” Turner said.
After Turner learned that the College of the Muscogee Nation has a Gardening Club, she decided to partner up with them to provide flowers for the Mother’s Day event.
Turner and her department are ready for an evening of fun, bonding, and seeing the creativity in the flower bouquets.
For more information, contact their department at 918-549-2557, and to keep up to date with their activities, you can follow their Facebook at Mvskoke Nation Youth Services.
