Valley View student named grand-prize winner of poster contest that drew 9,000 entries
A citywide poster contest with ties to Donald Duck brought hundreds of parents, students, educators and city officials to the Glendale Civic Auditorium Tuesday where the grand-prize winner — Steven Carris, a 12-year old Valley View Elementary student — was announced.
Glendale Clean & Beautiful’s poster contest drew 9,000 entries from across Glendale’s public and private schools.
Each year, the nonprofit invites thousands of students to participate in the “I Love My Neighborhood” poster contest.
This year’s theme: “Recycle Today for a Better Glendale.”
In addition to the theme, the students were required to incorporate Glendale Clean & Beautiful’s mascot — a burro — into the poster.
The donkey was created about 50 years ago by Charles Alfred Taliaferro, a Disney cartoonist known for drawing Donald Duck comic strips. Taliaferro also co-created Donald’s nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie.
His wife, Lucy, was a member of the Glendale Beautification Advisory Council and asked Taliaferro to draw a mascot for the group.
In homage to astronauts, the mascot was named “Litternaut” by a Glendale student in 1968 and renamed “Litter-Not” in 2002.
In Steven’s poster, the donkey helps a boy with recycling.
Steven also depicted the mountains he sees every day that serve as the dramatic backdrop for Valley View Elementary.
“I thought that the mountains were a very important part of Glendale,” he said.
Under them, children play soccer, a man relaxes on a bench and a woman pushes a stroller.
Steven’s inspiration for the poster was his neighborhood.
“I drew kids playing and people reading. It’s really at peace,” he said.
After all 9,000 posters were submitted to Glendale Clean & Beautiful, a team of five volunteer judges whittled them down to 70 finalists.
“The most difficult task is when we have to pick and choose between so many great artworks,” said Armina Gharpetian, president of the Glendale Unified school board and chair of the contest committee.
Those 70 students and their family members were invited Tuesday to the Glendale Civic Auditorium, where the artists each received a medal, took a photo with Gharpetian, and received acknowledgement from Glendale city officials, including council woman Paula Devine.
Also in the audience were many elementary school principals and teachers, and Glendale Unified Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr.
Near the end of the event, Armen Avedian, a Glendale Clean & Beautiful board member, encouraged all students to keep creating.
“Keep painting,” he said. “It’s a beautiful world out there.”
The second-place finalist was Sienna Padillo of Columbus Elementary and the third-place finalist was Santiago Sanchez, who attends Salem Lutheran School.
This fall, Steven, Santiago and Sienna will each have a tree planted at their school by Glendale Clean & Beautiful.
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
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