All local poets and artists are encouraged to submit their entries to the Canastota Public Library’s Words & Pictures Contest, a memorial for Rebecca Eddy.
This year, entries will be accepted in poetry and art. There is also a theme for the contest. This year’s theme was selected in cooperation with the Canal Town Museum in celebration of the birth of the Erie Canal and Canastota’s Canal Engineer Nathan Roberts. The theme for 2017 is “Canals Connect Communities.”
Using the theme, participants should create a poem or an artistic rendering to enter the contest.
The contest participants must live in the MidYork Library region which includes Madison, Oneida, and Herkimer Counties. Judging will be held in three divisions: Grades K – 6, Grades 7 – 12 and Adults. Poetry Judging will be completed by Rachel Guido deVries and the Art Judging will be completed by Pamela Lynch.
All entries (poetry and art) must be submitted by Friday, Aug. 11, at the close of the business day. Poems should be one typed page and may be in any form the writer wishes. The poet’s name, grade or adult, mailing address and home telephone number should be listed on the back of the poem. Only one poem should be submitted by each poet. Artwork may take any format. Only one piece of art should be submitted by each artist. The artist’s name, grade or adult, mailing address and home telephone number should be listed on the back of each piece of artwork. Only one piece of art should be submitted by each artist.
An Awards Ceremony will be held in September. First and second place awards in each division will receive $25 and $10 respectively. All participants will also be entered into a drawing for a prize. One poet will win a 7” Fire Tablet and one artist will win an artist’ kit, both valued at $50. All entries will remain on display at the library for the month of September 2017.
The library is appreciative of the Eddy Family for providing funding for this annual competition. Additional funding sources for this program have made it possible for the library to offer technical workshops and a juried show. Funding for Words & Pictures comes from The Decentralized Program, a regrant program of the New York Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts.
The contest was organized by Joan and Doug Eddy as a memorial to their daughter, Rebecca Eddy, a local Canastota woman who died at a young age in an automobile accident. Ms. Eddy was a graduate of Canastota High School as well as a graduate of John Hopkins University. She was an athlete, an artist, a thespian and a scholar. Eddy felt a passion towards writing and also towards her community. If you
have additional questions, feel free to contact the library staff at 315-697-7030. The Canastota Public Library is located at 102 W. Center Street in Canastota.