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Slidell Public Art in Full Bloom: New Camellia Tree Sculpture Spruces Up Roundabout

Slidell’s newest piece of public art is now on display at the roundabout at Robert Blvd. and Brownswitch Road.

“Slidell’s Community Camellia Tree” is an eight foot tall iron and glass sculpture depicting a camellia tree in full bloom. It’s an artistic collaboration between welder Jamie Gomez, owner of JG Land and Marine, and artist Solange Ledwith of Swamp Girl Glass. Gomez constructed and welded the base, trunk and branches and Ledwith created the beautiful glass camellias that adorn the tree.

In addition to the sculpture, new landscaping will be added to spruce up the roundabout.

“I would like to thank the artists and everyone who worked so diligently on this project, said Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer. “We are so fortunate to have a thriving art community in our city. This piece of art is a great addition to all the murals around our city. We are honored to support our art community and are looking forward to more public art in Slidell.”

In 2020, the City of Slidell commissioned several local artists to paint murals around the city as part of the “Celebrate Slidell Public Art Project.” The murals not only celebrated Slidell’s culture and community, but also recognized the bravery of first responders and health care heroes in the midst of a pandemic. The new camellia tree is the first sculpture in the public art series and is hopefully the first of many that will be installed around the city.

“Helping to beautify our city and encouraging public art in our community is important to me,” said Solange Ledwith, artist and owner of Swamp Girl Glass. “It was great collaborating with Jamie and I would like to thank the City of Slidell for allowing us to be a part of this project.”

Glass camellias are still being added to the tree and members of the community have a chance to be a part of this unique public art project. Individuals can sponsor a camellia for $100 and it will be added to the camellia tree. Proceeds from sponsorship will help fund future public art projects. Checks made out to the City of Slidell can be delivered to Swamp Girl Glass located at 1060 Front Street or mailed to the City of Slidell’s Department of Cultural & Public Affairs, PO Box 828, Slidell, LA, 70459.

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Keep Slidell Beautiful Hosts Annual Tree Giveaway on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Fritchie Park

Keep Slidell Beautiful and the Slidell Tree Board will host their annual Tree Giveaway on Saturday, February 5, starting at 8 a.m. at Fritchie Park.
Like the last several years, this will be a drive-through giveaway. The public should remain in their vehicles at all times. Trees will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Only one tree is allowed per vehicle. 
For more information, please contact the Department of Parks and Recreation at 985-646-4371. For information about City of Slidell news and upcoming events, you can sign up for our email news list on our website at www.myslidell.com or visit the  “City of Slidell, Louisiana” on Facebook. You can also follow Keep Slidell Beautiful on Facebook.
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Keep Slidell Beautiful and Director bring Slidell top honors from Keep Louisiana Beautiful

Keep Slidell Beautiful and Director Trey Brownfield were both recently recognized by the State of Louisiana at the 2021 Keep Louisiana Beautiful Conference.

Keep Slidell Beautiful received the Circle of Excellence Award and Brownfield was recognized as the Outstanding Affiliate Director for 2021.

Brownfield was hired as the Director of Keep Slidell Beautiful for the City of Slidell in 2019. In that short time, he has grown the affiliation and motivated the community to get more involved in Keep Slidell Beautiful through awareness campaigns and community committees. He has raised over $200,000 through fundraisers, sponsorships, and grant funding.

Keep Slidell Beautiful picks up over 50 tons of waste each year and facilitates over 4,000 hours of community service. Since becoming Director, Brownfield not only continued the Golf Tournament, Annual Tree Giveaway and two City-wide cleanups, he also successfully added new programs such as Community Recycling Days, Earth Week Awareness Events and the popular Christmas on Front light display which replaced holiday lights and decorations that were lost in Hurricane Katrina.

Brownfield was also recently awarded the Pearl Williams Superior Leadership Award from the Slidell Republicans Women’s Club in recognition of his leadership and involvement in the community.

For more information about Keep Slidell Beautiful, please call (985) 646-9564 and follow Keep Slidell Beautiful on Facebook.

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Keep Slidell Beautiful receives Cleanup Supply Grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful

Keep Slidell Beautiful (KSB) was recently awarded a Cleanup Supplies Grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful. The supplies – including work gloves, litter grabbers, trash bags and safety vests – will be used at the Keep Slidell Beautiful Fall City-Wide Cleanup on Saturday, November 6.
The purpose of the Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) Cleanup Supplies Grant is to build KSB’s litter supply inventory by providing the tools needed to conduct community cleanups and coordinate waste reduction events. Local cleanups of litter and debris removal from roadways and waterways is a way to bring the community together to bring awareness to the litter problem, recruit volunteers and remove a considerable amount of litter.

“We are grateful to Keep Louisiana Beautiful for providing this grant opportunity and for their continued support of Keep Slidell Beautiful,” said Trey Brownfield, Director of Keep Slidell Beautiful. “Our volunteers will be able to use these supplies at the City-wide Cleanup to help keep our community clean.”

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Keep Slidell Beautiful receives Trash Receptacle Grant

Keep Slidell Beautiful was recently awarded a Trash Receptacle Grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful. The trash cans will be placed around Olde Towne Slidell.

The purpose of the Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) Trash Receptacle Mini-Grant Program is to encourage community action in the specific areas of litter abatement and environmental stewardship. This program has been developed to assist Keep America Beautiful affiliates in Louisiana in their efforts to provide attractive, durable and high-quality trash receptacles in public spaces by streamlining the grant application process. KLB will support programs that demonstrate a commitment to community behavioral change and environmental stewardship through strong partnerships with local municipalities and a clear plan for monitoring the program’s impact over time through the litter assessments described within this program.

“We are grateful to Keep America Beautiful and Keep Louisiana Beautiful for providing this grant opportunity and for their continued support of Keep Slidell Beautiful,” said Trey Brownfield, Director of Keep Slidell Beautiful.
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Celebrate Christmas in July and help support Keep Slidell Beautiful and Christmas on Front

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

Join Keep Slidell Beautiful on Friday, July 9 for their Christmas in July Holiday Light Fundraiser from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium. All proceeds benefit the Christmas on Front Holiday Light Displays.

Tickets are $80 each or two for $150 and include admission, food, open bar and entertainment by WITNESS. Tickets can be purchased online via EventBrite, but to avoid online service fees, tickets can be purchased directly from Trey Brownfield, Keep Slidell Beautiful Director, by emailing tbrownfield@cityofslidell.org or calling (985) 646-9564.

“Last Christmas, I was overwhelmed by the support that we received from our community coming together to support Keep Slidell Beautiful’s Christmas on Front Street initiative and bringing back holiday light displays that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina,” said Brownfield. “We have plans to go bigger and better this year by extending the lights further down Front Street and maybe into other parts of Slidell. But to do this, we need your continued support.”

Table Sponsorships are also available for $1,000 which includes a table for eight people, acknowledgment in event publicity, recognition during and after the event, and one full-scene light display sponsorship during Christmas on Front in November and December 2021.

In 2020, Keep Slidell Beautiful was able to raise over $20,000 in sponsorships and in-kind support from local businesses and organizations for Christmas on Front.

For more information, please contact Brownfield at tbrownfield@cityofslidell.org or (985) 646-9564.

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Keep Slidell Beautiful Spring Citywide Cleanup on April 24 part of Clean City Campaign Earth Week Events

Join Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer and Keep Slidell Beautiful on Saturday, April 24 for Keep Slidell Beautiful’s Great American Clean Up starting at 9 am in Heritage Park.

Gather your families, friends, school clubs, church groups and civic organizations and volunteer to help keep our community clean. Lt. Governor Nungesser is even providing lunch, with a generous donation from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. And a big thank you to Coastal Environmental Services for cooking lunch!

Keep Slidell Beautiful is a total community effort. We all have to work together to help keep our city clean.
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Keep Slidell Beautiful hosts annual Tree Giveaway on Saturday, May 23 at Fritchie Park

Keep Slidell Beautiful and the Slidell Tree Board will host their annual Tree Giveaway on Saturday, May 23, starting at 8 a.m. at Fritchie Park.
 
“We have over 400 Cleveland Select Pear Trees to giveaway to the public,” said Trey Brownfield, director of Keep Slidell Beautiful. “The Tree Giveaway was postponed from earlier in the year due to COVID-19 concerns. We will be practicing social distancing, so we ask that the public remain in their vehicle at all times. Since March, the trees have grown considerably and they are now over 10 feet tall. You will definitely need a pickup truck or a vehicle with a trailer to bring these trees home. “
 
Trees will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Only one tree is allowed per vehicle. Because of the size of the trees, citizens in cars or SUVs will be asked to return with a truck or trailer. 
 
Sponsors for the Tree Giveaway include CLECO, Slidell Memorial Hospital, and Oschner, Coastal Environmental Services, Mike Rich CFP with Pontchartrain Investment Management, and the Keep Slidell Beautiful Board.
 
For more information, please contact Trey Brownfield by phone at 985-646-9564 or by e-mail at tbrownfield@cityofslidell.org. For information about City of Slidell news and upcoming events, you can sign up for our email news list on our website at www.myslidell.com or visit the  “City of Slidell, Louisiana” on Facebook. You can also follow Keep Slidell Beautiful on Facebook.
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