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Fergus Falls student advances in global peace poster contest [UPDATED]
Published 11:09am Wednesday, November 28, 2012 Updated 11:13am Wednesday, November 28, 2012A beautiful angel extending an olive branch is Ella Childs’ image of peace. The Kennedy Middle School sixth grade student won a local peace poster competition sponsored by the Fergus Falls Riverside Lions Club, and now has an opportunity to advance in an international artistic competition.
Each year, Lions clubs around the world sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster contest in local schools and youth groups for students ages 11 to 13. The theme of the 2012-13 Peace Poster contest is “Imagine Peace.”
Childs’ poster was among more than 60 posters submitted locally. The Riverside Lions Club President Burke Almquist said he was impressed by the creativity and hard work put into the posters.
“This year’s entries are the best we have seen in recent years,” said Almquist.
The posters were composed and completed in Peder Butenhoff’s sixth grade art classes. Each poster had to promote the contest theme, and could not include logos or phrases. Since this is an international competition, the artwork must express peace for all people of all cultures to recognize.
Butenhoff’s high school art students judged more than 60 posters as class assignment. There were eight finalists chosen, including: Ella Childs, first place; Julia Swanson, second place; Sophia Rausch, third place; Morgan Ackerson, fourth place; Andrew Balkan, fifth place; Malissa Anderson, sixth place; LilyAnn Gronewald, seventh place; and Morgan Sikkink, eighth place.
Childs’ poster will advance to face stiff competition at the Central Minnesotoa Lions District 5M9 convention in early January. If she wins there she will advance to a multiple district round, with an opportunity to go on to a final international round.
The final round consists of 24 finalists from around the world. The grand prize includes a cash award of $5000 plus a trip to an international awards ceremony at the United Nations in New York City. The 23 other finalists win merit awards including a $500 cash award and a trip to the awards ceremony at the U.N.
Locally, Childs and the other seven finalists and their families will be honored by the Riverside Lions at a dinner after the Lions 5M9 Convention.
This art contest for kids encourages young people worldwide to express their visions of peace. This year there were over 375,000 entries worldwide. For 25 years, more than 4 million children from nearly 100 countries have participated in the contest.
