Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is calling for entries in the 19th annual Adopt-A-Beach “Treasures of the Texas Coast” Children’s Art Contest. “Many little Texans never get to go to the beach, but this contest is an easy way to help teach them about the natural beauty of the Texas coast,” Patterson said. “If we want future generations to protect this treasure it’s essential they learn why it’s worth protecting.”
Open to students in grades K-6 across Texas, the contest motivates thousands of young artists each year. Ten winners will be chosen from each of four grade-level categories (K – 2nd, 3rd – 4th, 5th, and 6th). One grand prize winner will be chosen from among the 40 finalists. All 40 winners will receive a ticket to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, two all-day passes to Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels, two tickets to the Burke Baker Planetarium at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, a certificate of recognition and prizes from the Texas General Land Office and a calendar displaying the winning artwork.
This year’s grand prize winner will receive two round-trip coach-class tickets from United Airlines to any United destination in the 48 contiguous United States, one 7-night Caribbean cruise from Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines departing out of Galveston, Miami, or Ft. Lauderdale, and a class party at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels. The grand prize winner’s teacher will also receive two round-trip coach-class tickets from United Airlines, and one 7-night Caribbean cruise courtesy of Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Winning artwork will appear together in a 2016 calendar, which will be distributed across the state. State Rep. Greg Bonnen has even sponsored a display of the winning artwork at the Capitol from May 19 to May 26.
The Adopt-A-Beach “Treasures of the Texas Coast” Children’s Art Contest began in 1996 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Adopt-A-Beach Program. The annual competition encourages Texas schoolchildren to learn more about the Texas coast and express what they’ve learned through their art.
The deadline to submit artwork is Tuesday, March 3. For more information and contest guidelines on the “Treasures of the Texas Coast” 2015 Children’s Art Contest, please contact the General Land Office at 1-877-TXCOAST or visit http://www.texasadoptabeach.org.
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Good luck to all our kids out there and look forward to 2016 calendars with wonderful artwork of yours. Having our kids involved is one sure way of preserving the Beauty of our beaches for us all now and in the future. Thank you, Carlis Danna Cole “trashing our beaches on the Bolivar Peninsula” ( FB group)