This year we are going to celebrate Beverly Cleary’s character "Ribsy" by renovating and making improvements to a dog park in Yamhill. Our annual kid's writing, coloring and illustrating contests begins on April 12, in honor of Beverly Cleary's birthday. Please read below to download the color page, check out this year's story contest theme and how to enter.
This fun project began as a dedication to a notable children's author and to inspire literacy with community outreach. It has creatively taken new opportunities each year with the help of grant support from YCCC and new supporters. It keeps growing like Beverly Cleary's character Emily, a fictional character mirrored after her own experiences growing up in Yamhill. Emily, known for her run-away-imagination is like our event each year. We want to inspire kids to write stories with imagination and to write about the places and people from where they grew up.
Sometimes, "a run-away-imagination" is all we need to get a good story on a page. It has certainly helped our committee take new approaches to sharing literacy and community action. Join the fun with our contests. Come walk the historical and literary walking tour. Visit our yearly event the first weekend in May! Committee members past and present: Amy Brewer, Kara Weber, Kimberly Howell, Dana Gray.
Beverly Cleary won a writing contest when she was young. We hope you enter and write a story too.
** Contests are open to any child in the USA. There will be prizes for Yamhill County residents and for children outside of our county. We welcome all children to participate!
Story Contest open to all ages K-12.
Theme: Write a story about a dog. Your dog, a friend's dog, your future dog, your past dog. Since we are planning to open a community dog park we want fun stories about dogs.
Story Prompt Practice/Entry Pages: Use the practice pages and turn in the entry form page or type and send your own story. Stories can be typed or hand written . Download and print here:
Color Page Contest: Illustrated by Kimberly Howell a local Yamhill artist. For ages K-2nd grade. You can pick one up at the Larson House in Yamhill, or the Yamhill Bar and Grill.
Or print it here :
Local Artist Scholarship of $150 - Yamhill Carlton High School Student, must be 12th grade.
Stories and art must be received by May 2nd.
Prizes will be awarded for as many entries we can afford. *Some prizes may only be for local participants.
Past prizes have been t-shirts, pizza, books, coupons, postcards, stickers, bookmarks, gift certificates. Guided field trips for classrooms.
*Thanks to Yamhill County Cultural Commission and YDA(Yamhill Downtown Association)
****Visit our Yamhill Local Event: A Walk With Beverly Cleary, Walking Tour and family event. Saturday May 7th, 2022. Stories and art will be displayed.
Please send or email us your story and a picture of you:
OPTION 1: Mail story/artwork/color page to
YDA Beverly Cleary Contests
PO Box 194
Yamhill, OR 97148
or
OPTION 2: Email story or a photo of the artwork with the artist.
Email to : YDAstory.artcontest@gmail.com
Subject line: Submission Art/Story Contest Beverly Cleary
Information to include with your story or art. (copy and paste this info if you are emailing or sending by mail with a typed story and not our entry page.)
Name : ________________________________ Grade:______ T-shirt size __________
Parent’s name: ________________________________________
Email (parent’s please) : ___________________________________
Address: _________________________________________, State ______ Zipcode __________
Phone number: (*helpful but not required for prize distribution only) _____________________________________
*If you send your artwork, it will be able to be picked up in the Yamhill Town Hall for a limited time. Sorry, we will not return submitted artwork unless you win a prize.