Sea Monster Art Contest

WILMINGTON, Delaware — What could a plastic bottle, an egg carton, and a few bottle caps become?

The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation is challenging young artists to find out in Trash to Krakens, a Recycled Sea Monster Art Contest for children ages 5–17.

The contest is part of Halloween Ghost Ship, one of the Foundation’s biggest family events of the year, on Saturday, October 17 from noon to 4 pm. Families can enjoy free tours aboard Kalmar Nyckel, ghost stories, trick-or-treating in the park, pumpkin painting, spooky touch tanks, face painting, food trucks, live music, and trackless train rides. Most activities and admission are free.

Entrants can dream up a creature of the deep using at least 80 percent recycled materials. Clean household items such as cardboard tubes, milk cartons, corks, old CDs, plastic bottles, and mesh produce bags are all fair game. Each monster should be portable and labeled with its title and the artist’s name and age. The

contest has four age groups: Child 5–7, Youth 8–10, Preteen 11–13, and Teen 14–17.

Families may drop off entries Monday, October 12 through Friday, October 16 from 2 to 5 pm, or Saturday, October 17 from noon to 2 pm. The monsters will be displayed for visitors at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation’s Copeland Maritime Center. Judging begins at 2 pm on October 17, with winners announced at 2:30 pm. The first-place artist in each age group will receive a certificate, ribbon, candy, an octopus plushie, and a gift

certificate to a local craft store.

To enter, families should register online at kalmarnyckel.org/halloween and complete the entry form. Entries are due at The Copeland Maritime Center ,1124 East 7th Street, Wilmington by 2 pm Saturday,

October 17. The Center is open from 9 am to 4 pm every day except Sunday.

For more information, visit KalmarNyckel.org or call (302) 429-7447.

About the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation

The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing Delaware’s maritime heritage through hands-on educational programs, public sails, and historic interpretation. The Foundation operates the full-scale replica of the 17th-century ship Kalmar Nyckel, Delaware’s official tall ship, and the Copeland Maritime Center in Wilmington, Delaware.