 | | | The winners, from left: Emily McDonald, Ezra Wornick, Cassidy Keely, Ella Thompson, Emma Uffelman, Sophie Weston, Anya Peterson, Lily Thomas, Maya Borenshtain, and Laurel Tringe. Photo Tim Keohane (tkeohane@yahoo.com) | | | | | | After receiving over 160 writing and photography entries from Lafayette middle schoolers, the winners received their prizes at the sixth annual Lafayette Youth Arts Society Awards Ceremony at the Lafayette Library on April 14.
The contest, open to all middle schoolers living or attending school in Lafayette, ran from November to January. Founded in 2013, the annual contest is completely put on by a group of dedicated middle and high school students passionate about promoting the arts.
For the sixth annual contest, students got their creative juices flowing with a wide variety of prompts including "Vibrancy" and "Early Morning" for photography and "You found a time machine. Where do you go first?" and "Your car breaks down on the side of the road, and it's getting dark" for writing.
Local writers and photographers generously donated their time to judge every story and photo before selecting a top three, a creativity prize, and honorable mentions in each category. At the ceremony, winners received cash prizes and books and had the opportunity to share their work with an eager audience.
"It was a really good opportunity," second place writing winner Lily Thomas said.
The LYAS team hopes that students will continue to act on their passion.
"I was surprised, but very happy. I'll definitely try again next year," third place photography winner Sophie Weston said.
LYAS is very grateful for the support of its community partners, including Diablo Rapid Print, Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, and the Lafayette Rotary Club, for making the contest possible.
The LYAS Contest is the only Lafayette writing and photography contest open exclusively to middle schoolers. For more information about the contest and to see winning stories and photographs, visit www.lyas.org. |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA