Student Holiday Card Design Winners Celebrated

The Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County presents more than 129 holiday card designs created by elementary, middle and high school students from 20 Douglas County Schools in its annual competition. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, Dec. 5, from 5 until 6:30 p.m. for participating students, teachers and their families. Former Douglas County Schools music specialist, and music teacher at the Cultural Arts Center, Nancy Whittenburger will play Christmas carols and seasonal music on the piano during the festivities. This event is free and open to the general public. The Annual Holiday Card Design Competition and the Festival of Trees is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Douglas County.

The designs of students from New Manchester Elementary and Winston Elementary Schools, Turner Middle School and New Manchester High School were selected to be reproduced as holiday cards in full color for the first time this year. The winners of the annual holiday card competition are: Annie Barker (2nd grade, Winston Elementary; Ms. Antonovich, art teacher); Tatiana Serrano (4th grade, New Manchester Elementary; Ms. Ernst, art teacher); Itzel Varga (8th grade, Turner Middle School; Mrs. Kiker, art teacher); and Laetitia Auguste (11th grade, New Manchester High School; Ms. Houlihan). Their prize-winning printed cards will be available for sale at the Cultural Arts Center.

“We are delighted with the quality of the designs entered this year, and it was very hard to pick only four artworks to be printed as our winners,” commented Allen Culpepper, CAC Gallery Committee Chair. “In fact, we want everyone to know that every student in this show is a winner – they were selected to represent their schools, and they should be very proud of themselves. We sure are proud of them!”

CAC Board member and the Douglas County Extension Office’s 4-H coordinator Jeremy Cheney helped to organize the annual Festival of Trees this year. Douglas County Schools fine arts teachers decided that the 2013 theme would be “Famous Artists and Art Movements from History;” and trees decorated by 15 schools and youth groups will be on display on the arts center grounds along Campbellton Street throughout the month of December.

The mission of the Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County is to nurture, guide and stimulate the enjoyment of and participation in the arts among Douglas County residents by providing an atmosphere conducive to the arts, broadening the spectrum of quality exhibits and performances available to the community, and fostering individual interactions with the arts through a wide range of satellite groups. The Cultural Arts Council and its exhibitions at the Cultural Arts Center are supported in part by the City of Douglasville, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, and the Georgia Council for the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.