HELENA-WEST HELENA – Delta Cultural Center has announced the three winners of its first Blues Heritage Youth Art Competition to encourage the artistic endeavors of Delta youths and stimulate their interest in the cultural attributes of the Delta.

Madison Shannon Palmer High School student Marenda Figgs of Lambert, Miss., is the winner of a $250 award in the senior high division; Cross County High School student Cheyenne Lovrien of Cherry Valley won a $100 award in the sixth through ninth grade division; and Faulk Elementary School student Gregory Miller of West Memphis took the $50 award for the elementary school division.

The three students will be honored during a reception for Blues Heritage Youth Art Competition entrants and winners at the DCC Depot on Tuesday, Oct. 7. The public is encouraged to tour the student exhibition and attend the reception, beginning at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

MSPHS instructor Mackenzie Stroh, David Early of CCHS, and FES teacher Shannon Murrah will be awarded $25 each to aid classroom instruction.

The exhibit continues through mid-November at the DCC. Admission is free.

Open to all public, private, and home-school students, the contest attracted 150 participants from Arkansas and Mississippi. Entries were divided into three divisions: kindergarten through fifth grade, with the winner receiving a $50 award; sixth through ninth grade, with the winner receiving $100; and 10th through 12th grade, with the winning student receiving $250. An additional award of $25 each is presented to the instructors of the winners for classroom use.

“We were thrilled at the overwhelming response of students in our area and impressed with the quality of their work in general,” said Jack Myers, DCC education coordinator and organizer of the project.

Myers also directed specific gratitude to Helena’s Pillow Clinic for its partnership in the competition, acting as donor for the monetary awards.

“Our thanks in particular are extended to Dr. Ned Pillow and the clinic for their generous and continued support of our youths,” Myers said, noting that Pillow is to present the cash prizes totaling $475 to the young artists and their teachers on Oct. 7.

In the past, the DCC had sponsored a popular annual art contest, but it had fallen to the wayside, Myers explained. The reintroduction of the competition, along with the introduction of monetary awards received strong support, he said, noting that the DCC will work to promote the contest in many ways.

“The benefits to students and their school districts go well beyond the immediate financial awards,” he said. “We have developed a marketing campaign to include winning artwork, as well as news releases, and hosting the reception and exhibit in conjunction with the 2008 Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival.”

Student artists were asked to create a piece of artwork on poster board, art paper, or canvas no larger than a standard poster board and utilize the theme “Cradle of the Blues,” a reflection of the fact that the Delta is often referred to as the cradle of blues music, Myers pointed out. A new theme will be announced for the 2009 competition.

Gallery hours at the DCC Visitors Center at 141 Cherry Street and the nearby DCC Depot at 95 Missouri Street are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturday. “King Biscuit Time,” the nation’s longest-running blues radio program, is hosted each weekday at the DCC Visitor’s Center by “Sunshine” Sonny Payne, from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. “Delta Sounds,” hosted by DCC Assistant Director Terry Buckalew and Payne, is broadcast each Friday from 1 to 1:30 p.m.

For more information, interested persons can call the Delta Cultural Center at (870) 338-4350 or toll free at (800) 358-0972 or visit the DCC online at www.deltaculturalcenter.com.

The Delta Cultural Center shares the vision of all seven agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage – to preserve and promote Arkansas heritage as a source of pride and satisfaction. Other agencies within the department are the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Arts Council, and the Natural Heritage Commission.

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