Creativity was on display from start to finish at Abrakadoodle’s conference. Staff and attendees came costumed as an artist or a piece of artwork for the welcoming cruise along the scenic Potomac River. Pam Rautmann, who serves Southeastern Wisconsin, won the prize for best costume representing an artist. She was a shoe-in as Frida Kahlo! Which two artists were most represented at conference? Salvador Dali, the surrealist painter and Jackson Pollock an abstract expressionist known for his unique drip style of painting. The prize for best costume representing a piece of art went to Geraldine Smythe, director of Abrakadoodle-Austin, TX and her lead teacher Letty Bouchon, who fashioned colorful head-to-toe costumes based upon artist Natasha Wescoat’s famous jeweled trees.

All About Abrakadoodle: Check out a one-and-a-half minute short history of Abrakadoodle as told through pictures!

Special thanks to our Abrakadoodle Artists of Distinction for their generous donations, as well as our supportive conference sponsors: Warren Lewis of Akerman, Senterfitt, LLP, Washington, DC; Joe Bell, Bell & Frech, LLC, Brookeville, MD; Mary Moore, Constant Contact, Waltham, MA; Amit Pamecha, FranConnect, Reston, VA; Peter McCann, Ideal Images, Omaha, NE; Mark Mahoney, JackRabbit Technologies, Cornelius, NC; Dan Wolanski, Mag Knight, Inc, Snohomish, WA; Dan Johnson/Amy Klotz, Nasco, Fort Atkinson, and Chris Mada, S&S Worldwide, Colchester, CT.