Frosty Fest essay contest winners announced
West Chicago, Illinois: December 2, 2013 – Classroom visits by Mayor Ruben Pineda during the week leading up to Frosty Fest are eagerly anticipated by those students who participated in the City of West Chicago's Frosty Fest essay contest. The annual tradition is an element of the downtown celebration of the season, scheduled for Saturday, December 7, 2013. Mayor Pineda visits classrooms of the winning students to offer a personal invitation to the event and thank all for their participation.
This year's essay prompt centered around music, fitting well with the City's theme, which features a trumpet blowing snowman and his invitation to “start the season on a high note”. The feelings that were expressed by the students were thoughtful and original; ranging from opinions on specific styles of music and individual performers, to creating a song from a beat in your head, or even your heart.
The following students won in their grade category:
Grades 1 & 2
Kylie Doyle – Gary School (Grade 2)
Grades 3 & 4
Victor Gonzalez – Indian Knoll School (Grade 3)
Grades 5 & 6
Caitlyn Tran – Norton Creek School (Grade 5)
The West Chicago Public Library District's Public Relations Specialist, Shelley Campbell, volunteered for the delightful task of reading through dozens of essays. According to Campbell, “I look forward to this task every year – it's so fun to see what the kids have to say! It seems like the essays get better every year! And this year, the theme fit right in with the beautiful music our high school choirs will be bringing to the open house at the library just before Frosty Fest. We're hoping everyone will come to the library for music, refreshments, and the ever popular visit with Santa!”
Winners will receive a horse-drawn wagon ride down Main Street with Mayor Pineda and members of the City Council in the Frosty Fest procession which steps off at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, 2013, on Main Street in front of City Hall and travels west to the Fox Community Center. There, the winners will help “magically” light the holiday tree and all of downtown West Chicago. Plus, winning essays will be posted to the City of West Chicago website.
“I look forward to my annual classroom visits to acknowledge the hard work of our students and teachers. We spend some time talking about what interests them and what's special about Frosty Fest, and West Chicago. I always come away with a sense of pride in the youth of our community. The work they do in school is preparing them for a bright future,” said Mayor Pineda.
For a complete schedule of events for Frosty Fest, and to read the winning essays, visit www.westchicago.org.