Downtown Harrisonburg’s Court Square Theater is preparing for the next in its series of free courses on different forms of the arts.

August’s entry in the theater’s Master Class series will help attendees learn the basics of floral design and arrangement. The course will be hosted by Abby Chick, owner of Blakemore’s Flowers, which has operated in the Friendly City for more than 80 years.

Chick said that, during the class, she will help attendees  “dive into the artistry of floral design.” One element of this will be by taking cues from sculpture and more traditional forms of art like the so-called “golden ratio” of design to create “something better than what you can find in a store,” she said.

The free class will meet Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the theater. Space is limited, and registration is required. Anyone interested can register on Court Square Theater’s website.

The course is the latest in the theater’s series of free classes, with previous sessions involving photography and videography, preparing for theater auditions, and sculpture. Courses are hosted by local artists and provided free to anyone wishing to attend, thanks to support from The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County’s Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts.

Chick began working part-time at Blakemore’s when she was 19, according to the release. Since then, Chick has turned that part-time job into a lifelong passion, according to the release. In her floral arrangements, Chick draws inspiration from practical and efficient business management, profitable sustainability practices, and compassionate approaches to designing sympathy arrangements.

While Chick has taught floral arranging classes before, she said the Master Class will be different for her.

"I've never taught a class really diving as deep as I'm going to with these students, just because this one really allowed for the time necessary," Chick said. "I teach this to my designers who work here [at Blakemore's], and this is something that I will teach them over the course of years that you can always be exploring, and really expanding your knowledge, and trying new concepts with it. But this will be the first time that I'm dedicating a whole class to, you know, really getting into it with students."