Creative Festivals Eligibility Requirements

GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for judging . . .

1. Entrants must be members, or children of catechumens, in a parish or mission in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
2. Entries must be an expression of the theme.
3. Students can submit only one entry in each category (art, photography, writing, poetry, etc.)
4. Entries must be the student’s own work.
5. Entries must be created between April 1^st of the previous year and April 1^st of the present year.
6. Entrants must be in grades one through 12. For Preschool and Kindergarten children, a special lesson plan with resources as well as a downloadable participation certificate will be available on the website.
7. No signature, initials, or identifying marks may appear on the piece of art, writing, poetry, or photography.
8. The Standard Identification Form must be securely glued or taped to the back of each entry, and the Record of Participants Form must accompany each mailing.
9. Mailings must be postmarked by April 1.

SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND NOTES

Art

1. Entries must be original works of art, completed by the student. Since the emphasis is on creativity, copying, tracing, coloring in line drawings, etc., is not acceptable. Icons can be referred to when sketching, but not traced.
2. SIZE: Entries must be mounted or matted, unless the art has been done directly on foam board, matte board, or poster board, stretched canvas, or other firm material, to assist in its display. Including the matte or mounting, the entry must be no larger than 18 inches by 24 inches and no smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches. The maximum width or depth is 6.”
3. Any medium is acceptable. Keep in mind the packaging and shipping required for certain media.
4. All writing on the artwork must be in the hand of the student.

Photography

1. Entries must be original photos, taken by the student. Since the the emphasis is on creativity, copying photos or taking photos of photos is not allowed.
2. SIZE: Entries must be mounted or matted on foam board, or poster board, or other firm material, to assist in its display. Including the matte or mounting, the entry must be no larger than 11 inches by 14 inches and no smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches.
3. Entries may be black and white, or color.
4. An entry may consist of one or more photos (as in a collage).
5. Captions or titles are permitted, and may be handwritten or done by computer.
6. Digital photos may be edited before use.

Creative Writing

1. Entries must be original compositions (no interviews or reports) and not copied or paraphrased from published works or other sources.
2. The student may ask a teacher, parent, or a computer program check the entry for correct spelling and punctuation. However, a parent or teacher may not rearrange or substitute words.
3. Entries must be typewritten on 8 1/2 x 11 white paper, double spaced, in Times New Roman font, size 12. Four copies are to be submitted. If a child cannot submit a typed entry, the teacher or church school director is to accept a handwritten piece and type it. Please type the student’s grade level in the right hand corner of the entry.
4. There is no minimum length for Grade 1 and 2 entries. Dictation is permitted for Grade 1. For Grades 3 through 12 there is a three (3) page maximum length.

Poetry

1. Entries must be original compositions and not copied or paraphrased from published works or other sources.
2. Students may ask a teacher, parent, or a computer program to check the entry for correct spelling and punctuation. However, a parent or teacher may not rearrange or substitute words.
3. Entries must be typewritten on 8 1/2 x 11 white paper, double spaced, in Times New Roman font, size 12. Four copies are to be submitted. If a child cannot submit a typed entry, the teacher or church school director is to accept a handwritten piece and type it. Please type the student’s grade level in the right hand corner of the entry.
4. Entries may be of any length and in any style. Dictation is permitted for Grade 1.