A colorful celebration of Thanksgiving

Among the many time-honored traditions tied to Thanksgiving is one unique to La Cañada: an annual contest that challenges local fifth-graders to create a colorful drawing that might be featured in the Valley Sun.

This year the contest drew more than 160 entries representing all three of the La Cañada Unified School District elementary school campuses, as well as the private St. Bede and Crestview Preparatory schools.

When the judges finished their considerations and the dust settled, a clear winner emerged in the general excellence category: Daniel Zhao, a student in Danna Lesko’s class at Paradise Canyon Elementary School.

Daniel’s work, created in colored pencil on a white background, displayed fine detail work and cleverly included traditional holiday elements tailored to the theme, “Thanksgiving in the United States.”

The contest, which has run for more than 60 years, is open to fifth-graders because it complements their classroom studies of American history. The rules state the artwork may be humorous, serious, contemporary, historical or any combination. Some years there are many patriotic entries; this year entries tended more toward the historical aspect of the holiday, although many youngsters opted for drawing colorful turkeys. The winning entries in the major categories, as well as runners-up and a few honorable mentions, can be found on pages A8 and A9.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-- Carol Cormaci, Times Community News