Young Artist Poster Contest Sends Anti-Bullying Message

The City of Gilroy Recreation Department is holding a poster contest for young artists, and everyone from kindergartners to seniors in high school are welcome to enter.

The contest, held in collaboration with the and the Gilroy Chapter of the National Family Week Committee, is meant to be an activity to encourage family unity.

“It’s really an activity that's supposed to take place at home between parents and children or whatever the home setting may be,” said Cathy Mirelez, Recreation Department supervisor for the City of Gilroy.

Organizers chose the theme, “Be a friend, put a stop to bullying,” for this year’s poster contest. They hope it will help children prioritize what's important in school.

“That's the one we all agreed on, [because] we thought it was very timely and appropriate. I think we’ve seen [bullying] come to the forefront within the last few years through the media,” Mirelez said. “Bullying can have such a horrible impact on anybody, especially students at school. It's just a very nice way to begin dialoguing—not only at school, but at home—about the importance of friendship.”

Students from all schools within the district should receive fliers in their school packets in mid-February, and have until March 21 to enter. There is no entry fee, interested individuals just need to grab half a sheet of standard-size poster board and get to work.

As far as prizes go, all participants will receive a ribbon, with selected winners from each age category receiving prizes. Mirelez also said that one or more artworks will be professionally printed and hung in city facilities.

“There are judges that will come in and judge them, and those that are the favorites will be presented at a city council meeting and hung in city hall,” she said. “We'll choose at least one poster to be featured on a city-wide poster that the judges feel best depicts the theme,” she said.

The poster contest is being sponsored by the Gilroy Rotary Club, Gilroy Gang Task Force and . Mirelez said this is the third year that city staff have collaborated with the family week committee over a poster theme.

“It’s a really nice way to work together with other agencies, and allows us to help promote the theme and the contest,” she said.

Posters will be accepted from March 19 through the 21 and should be submitted to the front office or each participant’s local school.  

Fliers are available in the Recreation Department, and questions can be answered by department staff by calling (408) 846-0460.