PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway Inc.'s exclusive dairy brand, Lucerne®, congratulated the nine student finalists chosen to compete for a $30,000 grand prize in the Eighth Annual Lucerne® The Art of Dairy™ Art Contest. The finalists were announced via a live reveal at www.artofdairy.com. The nine finalists will now transfer their designs onto an unconventional canvas – a life-sized fiberglass cow.
Beginning April 17, the public will vote for their favorite cow and crown a winning artist in the contest that joins nutrition with artistic talent and ingenuity. In addition, as part of the Teacher Incentive Program, all schools that sent in entries were entered into a second-chance drawing, and one lucky school will win $1,000 for its art department. The entries are being tabulated and the winning school will be announced mid-March.
Since the inception of the Art of Dairy™ contest in 2005, Lucerne has contributed over $373,000 to schools, teachers, and students. This year, over 6,400 entries were received from schools across the country.
The Lucerne brand is proud to be committed to promoting the creative growth of young artists, supporting their talents along with underfunded art programs in schools. The Art of Dairy contest has been going strong for eight years, garnering thousands of creative, inspired design entries.
About the Contest
Safeway's Lucerne® brand has been providing students with a wide variety of wholesome dairy products for over a century. Delicious nourishment before, during, and after school not only feeds the body, but it also helps fuel creative minds.
Leveraging a brand new theme for this year's Art of Dairy™ contest – "ImaginDairy Places" – students were encouraged to express their love of dairy by creating an imaginary world made up of Lucerne dairy products on a cow-shaped template. An elite panel of judges reviewed the thousands of entries received and selected nine finalists who will transfer their designs on to life-sized fiberglass cow sculptures. Once the finalists have completed their works, America will decide the winner via online and mobile voting from April 17 thru May 17, 2013. The finalist cows will be on display in stores in April, and winners will be announced in early June.
In April and May, Safeway's YouTube page will chronicle the artistic process of each of the finalists. These videos will allow the talented young artists to express how art has impacted their lives and its importance to their schools.
The contest winners will share approximately $46,000 in prizes with their art teachers and their schools' art programs. The Grand Prize winner will receive $20,000 for his or her school's art department, plus $5,000 each for the winner and his or her art teacher. The First Prize winner receives $5,000 for his or her school's art department, plus $2,500 each for the student and teacher. In addition, one Honorable Achievement winner and their teacher will receive $1,000 each. The remaining six finalists will receive $500 gift cards.
This program is a fun and unique way to promote creative growth and encourage students to artistically express themselves; the contest not only gives students a national platform to unveil their talents, but also helps illustrate the importance of art education in schools.
For past contest winners, entry forms, delicious recipes, information about Lucerne® and Official Rules, visit www.ArtofDairy.com.
The Art of Dairy 2013 Finalists
Gissella M. – Weber Institute – Stockton, CA
Hagen A. – Northwest Career and Technical Academy – Las Vegas, NV
Rachel R. – Sehome High School – Bellingham, WA
Sierra N. – Sandy High School – Sandy, OR
Kayla A. – Northwest Christian School – Phoenix, AZ
Yul J. – La Veta High School – La Veta, CO
Melissa P. – Tinley Park High School – Tinley Park, IL
Riley K. – Loudoun Valley High School – Purcellville, VA
Nhung (Julie) L . – South Grand Prairie High School – Grand Prairie, TX
ABOUT SAFEWAY www.Safeway.com
Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,644 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $43.6 billion in 2011. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.
Source: Safeway Inc.