Campo Verde’s FFA Wins People’s Choice at Tempe Blooms Festival
Holly Anderson
This past weekend, January 23rd-25th, Campo Verde FFA Agriscience and Engineering Program proudly represented Gilbert Public Schools at the Tempe Blooms Festival, a large-scale floral and art event in Downtown Tempe. With more than 90,000 attendees, the event transformed downtown with vibrant floral displays, where Campo Verde FFA’s installation was showcased, placing students' work at the heart of the celebration. Their display, themed “Rooted in Agriculture,” won the People’s Choice Award.
Campo Verde FFA was selected as just one of two high schools invited statewide to compete alongside professional floral designers. Their “Rooted in Agriculture” display highlighted agriculture as a way of life that sustains communities, utilizing earth-toned colors to symbolize soil, resilience, and agricultural heritage. Their design honored the dedication of farmers and ranchers and their connection to land, labor, and livelihood. Entirely student-designed and fabricated, these concepts were brought to life with welding animal forms, fabricating the boot structure, and selecting the color palette, with students leading the creative and technical process from start to finish.
Through public voting, Campo Verde FFA earned the People’s Choice Award, securing $500 for the chapter and highlighting strong community support. FFA Advisor Keili Summey reflected on the experience, saying, “Watching my students come together, work hard, learn new skills, and flex their creative muscles reminded me exactly why I do this. It wouldn't be possible without our amazing assistant Anissa McCleve, who is an incredible resource and always willing to go the extra mile to support our kids and this program. Seeing the public connect with their work and their agricultural roots was incredibly meaningful. This is ‘Learning by Doing’ at its finest.”
Campo Verde FFA’s participation in Tempe Blooms highlights the impact of Agriscience and Engineering as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, where students gain hands-on experience in design, construction, problem-solving, and teamwork while exploring real-world agricultural careers.
Learn more about our CTE Agriscience and Engineering program.
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