Spring Fund Drive Update: WE DID IT!

Thanks to the generosity of our friends and hard work of the Board of Governors, Board of Trustees, staff, and students, the University YMCA has reached its Spring goal of $85,000. And surpassed it!


At the Annual Meeting on 4/21, Executive Director, Mike Doyle, announced the total received so far this year: $88,352.00


A big thank you goes out to everyone who donated and helped raise funds. The staff and boards of the University YMCA are encouraged by the gifts received and continuing to work hard to raise money for the 2012 Annual Fund.

Volunteers Get FIRST DIBS

The University Y is seeking volunteers for Dump & Run Collections this May. If you volunteer 6+ hours, you get first dibs at the sale in August! Don't miss your chance...

Sign up here or email volunteer@universityymca.org for more info.


Pics of our wonderful volunteers last year can be viewed on Flickr.

Deliciously Literary: Edible Book Fair 2012 at the Y

by Eleanor Turek

Communications Intern

University YMCA

Reading and eating. 

It’s pretty hard to go wrong with those two things, so pair them together and what do you get? 

An edible book fair contest!

Walking into the fair on Monday, April 2^nd I grabbed a strip of smiley face stickers to put on the edible books that I deemed a favorite.

So, what exactly is an edible book fair and what constitutes an edible book you may ask? Well, the edible book fair is a contest that allows artists and authors alike to showcase their talent and creativity in the kitchen as well as their literary passions by making their favorite book into a cake. The "books" were made out of cake mix or various baking goods and frosting and depicted a story of the maker’s choice. There were about 15 books on display for everyone to see. The edible books were based on the creators choice so Classics such as 20,000 leagues Under The Sea and Charlotte’s Web were recreated into beautiful edible arragements.

Judith Hoffberg, a renowned book artist, is considered to be the mother of the edible book fair. As Sue Sirri, a University librarian, announced the winners she also gave a brief history of the edible book fair and its origins and said “A key element of the fest has been to document the books before they are eaten to showcase the talent of all the participants. It’s about food, art, books, and stories.”  

Okay now let’s get to the good stuff now. At around 12:30 the judges of the fair took the mic and announced the winners for each category. The celebrity judges included an international storyteller, a local muralist, and the director of the farmers market square in Urbana (which starts up again May 5th!). Being the amazing storyteller that he is, Dave announced the winners. With several categories to be awarded, the anticipation of the participants and the audience (or at least myself) was at an all time high.

Drum roll please….


THE WINNERS: 

Best Depiction of a Classic: Huckleberry Finn Cake
Best Visual Presentation: Corduroy Bear and the Secret Garden
Most Appetizing: The Ant and the Grasshopper
Funniest Punniest: The Tell Tale Tart
Best Entry Based on Children's Book: Some Pig from Charlotte’s Web
Best Collaborative Creation: It’s Okay to be Different
Most Fablest Entry: The Fox and the Grapes

In addition to original categories, the judges decided to throw two new ones into the mix. The two new categories this year were “Most Seasonally Appropriate” won by a depiction of The Farmers Almanac and the other was “The Best Edible Food Depicting A Book/TV Series” and The Game of Scones won that. 


In case anyone wanted to know what the fan favorite was…it was The Corduroy Bear made by Jenna Ziedler.

The Corduroy Bear by Jenna Ziedler. Photo by author.