By Nancy Edwards
More than 2,700 students in grades K-8 that attend schools in the Hamilton Southeastern district created art that reflects this year’s theme of the 26th annual Fishers Freedom Festival: Keep Fishers Beautiful.
The art, displayed in Fishers Town Hall through March 31, showcases the top 100 designs chosen by a panel from the Fishers Arts Council and the Fishers Freedom Festival Committee. Awards were given for nine honorable mentions, second place and first place.
Emma McCord, 14, an 8th-grader at Riverside Junior High School, was the winner of this year’s contest. Her design, to be laminated on T-shirts for the festival, features a tree, flowers and a symbol for the environment.
McCord will also receive a free T-shirt bearing her design, a trophy, and will be featured in the Festival Guide and appear in the main parade.
Designs will also be posted on the Fishers Arts Council Facebook and the Fishers Freedom Festival website (www.fishersfreedomfestival.org). The students’ name, grade and school will be posted with the T-Shirt designs at the Fishers Town Hall.
The final T-Shirt will be available for purchase in the Fishers Freedom Festival Office, 8591 East 116th Street, Fishers, for $10 each, at the Fishers Freedom Festival and off the Festival’s web site. Proceeds benefit future Fishers Freedom Festivals.
Fall Creek Intermediate School’s art department received $500 for submitting the most designs. The prize money is sponsored by the Fishers Arts Council and the Fishers Freedom Festival.
“I feel we should participate in the Fishers Freedom Festival contest each year to celebrate our great town/city of Fishers that offers so many opportunities for our youth,” said Frank Sergi, art teacher for Fall Creek Intermediate School.
Nicole Boram, an 8th-grade teacher at Riverside Junior High, said she incorporates the Fishers Freedom T-shirt contest into her curriculum because “it is a great way to cover one of our visual art standards: Understanding art in relation to history and past and contemporary culture, exploring ways to support the arts and utilize resources within the community.”
Keep Fishers Beautiful is an initiative by the Town of Fishers that encourages residents to assist in the beautification of their community and will be incorporated as part of the Spring Into Action Service Day May 3 in the subdivision community of Sunblest Countryview.
Volunteer opportunities include light landscaping, trash removal and other low-intensity projects. All ages and physical abilities are welcome during Spring Into Action Service Day.
“We’re hoping residences and neighborhoods help each other and get out in the community and band together,” said Dan Domsic, community engagement coordinator with the Town of Fishers.
Those interested in volunteering may contact Dan Domsic at [email protected].
