Winners announced in Cape Library’s 20th Annual Children’s Environmental Art Contest
The Cape Coral Public Library and the Friends of the Cape Coral Library held the awards ceremony for the 20th Annual Children’s Environmental Art Contest “Coloring the Earth” the evening of Wednesday, May 13, in the meeting room of the library.
The theme this year was “Protect Our Florida Black Bears,” mainly from habitat loss and trophy hunting.
More than 90 people came to applaud the youngsters as they received their prizes; hear an interactive presentation about Florida black bears by keynote speaker Cris Costello, state campaign director of Sierra Club Florida; and enjoy refreshments.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, Art Contest Chairperson Alessia Leathers of the Friends of the Cape Coral Library, who founded the contest back in 2006 and has continued to oversee it, gave an overview of the history and thanked those individuals who have provided support over the years.
With 455 entries received from all over Lee County, a panel of five judges had the difficult task to select the awarded artwork according to four age categories: 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 years-old. The awarded artwork has been framed and is on exhibit in the gallery of Cape Coral Library through June 25 and is also featured on the Friends of the Cape Coral Library website at capefriends.org under the “Art Gallery” tab. The winners for this year are:
Category 5-6 years old
1st place — Greyson Vaughan (6) Trafalgar Elementary
2nd place — Juliette Pabon (6) Oasis South Elementary
3rd place — Greyson Hunt (6) River Hall Elementary
Honorable Mentions — Kylee Zefri Berry (5) Pinecrest Academy & Dashiell Courtright (5) Whiz Kids
Category 7-8 years old
1st place — Nico Bartley (7) St Francis Xavier School
2nd place — Lincoln Swinto (7) Homeschool
3rd place — Clara Laursen (8) Heights Elementary
Honorable Mentions — Emma Romero (8) St. Francis Xavier School & Elena Yang (8) Heights Elementary
Category 9-10 years old
1st place — Annie Miller (10) Heights Elementary
2nd place — Dominic Joseph (9) St. Francis Xavier School
3rd place — Mila Salazar (10) Heights Elementary
Honorable Mentions — Lydia Hoffman (9) St Francis Xavier School & Camille Millsap (10) Heights Elementary
Category 11-12 years old
1st place — Federico Beltran-Velez (11) St. Francis Xavier School
2nd place — Weston Mecsics (11) Oasis Middle School
3rd place — Zoey Snyder (11) St. Francis Xavier School
Honorable Mentions — Ayva Whitehurst (11) Heights Elementary & Isabella Evalle (11) St. Francis Xavier School