Hi Friends and Family,
This has been a very busy and meaningful year. Three highlights were my art works, and I was a Track and Field athlete on Team Minnesota for NATIONAL SPECIAL OLYMPICS, and I had an epic family trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. Please take a look at my art page and maybe purchase a piece or some cards.
I sewed 2 butterflies that made it into the St Paul Saints Butterfly Garden. My art mentor Cami and I got Honorable Mention for a Peeps diorama in the St Paul Pioneer Press. We called it “Uninvited Guests.” Two of my works were accepted into Art of Possibilities Show at Courage Kenny. I submitted a beautiful field of flowers to the State Fair. It didn’t make it in, so I got it into the “Rejected” show. It was seen by many people in the Douglas Flanders Gallery. Cami and I work in her studio with Stephanie the boss cat who watches me to make sure I stay on task. We also did plein air sketching at Como and I wrote poetry at coffee houses around town. I love the Ginkgo and the Cat Café. I still paint and work with clay at InterAct Art Center, where I am also a member of the InterAct writer’s group .
I have been a Special Olympics athlete for 35 years. I am proud and honored to have represented Minnesota during the 2026 National Summer Games. I trained with my friend Mur five days a week. I stretched out and did race walking and endurance walking and yoga and swam once a week. I made a lot of friends, including one of my new best friends Anna because we are both short so we were always put front and center shoulder to shoulder in all of the track Team Minnesota pictures. I won three bronze medals in the 100 meter race walk, the 400 meter race walk and in shot put. Special Olympics helps athletes with intellectual disabilities to compete in sports and do our best in all aspects of our lives. I also did varsity training as a global messenger and was asked to do interviews. You can see them at KSTP or KARE11. I still golf with Katie, bowl and do track and now I only train hard three days a week.
Going on the airplane to Maine was fun and climbing to the top of Cadillac Mountain with Amanda and Peter and Shaun and Star and Gerald and my mom was exhilarating; sometimes I needed help like at Thunder Hole to keep my balance but that’s ok. We went on a bird touring boat ride out in the Atlantic Ocean and saw puffins, porpoises, seals and various sea birds. I went swimming with Amanda. The breakfasts were fantastic and we made our own trail mixes to take out hiking. We had campfires with s’mores every night. We met people from other parts of the world at the resort. It took me by complete surprise to find a store in Portland that was run by artists with disabilities. They made and sold their art there. I tried lobster and halibut and really liked them and the blueberries were terrific. I will cherish all the memories I made in Maine. I will share more memories and maybe a new story with you later on this winter.
Thank you for looking at my art!
Your friend, Evita (Eve) Newman
