Winners in the District 214 and Daily Herald Community Art and Writing Contest

Northwest Suburban High School District 214 has announced the winners of the Arts Unlimited District 214 and Daily Herald Community Art and Writing Contest.

The annual contest invites residents of the school district - which encompasses Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling - to submit their original prose, poetry or artwork.

Judges chosen by District 214 evaluate the work and name first-, second- and third-place winners. The winners are published in the Daily Herald and recognized at the district's Arts Unlimited Reception, which is being held virtually this year.

This year's winners for first place are: Benny Ortiz Galicia, Dennis F. Depcik and Martin McGowan; for second place, Megan Steffens, Bev Ottaviano and Joe Lynn; and for third place, Emily DePaz, Janani Venkat Ramanan and Alexis Petrielli, with an honorable mention for Linda Sinard.

This year's judges were Jonathan Pruc, an artist, District 214 alumnus and art teacher at Mundelein High School, in the visual art category; Bill Leece, a retired English and journalism teacher, in the prose category; and Jan Bottiglieri, a writer, poet and editor for the poetry annual Rhino, in the poetry category.

In print, the first-place winners will publish Thursday, April 22; the second-place winners on Friday, April 23; and the third-place winners on Sunday, April 25. You can view them in each day's e-edition as well.

Third place, 'Italian Birds'

Honorable mention, prose: 'Is. Was. Is.'

Third place, prose: 'A Breath of Air'

Third place, poetry: 'Fire and Ice'

Second place, visual art: 'Scream'

Second place, prose: 'Birthday Gift'

Second place, poetry: 'Me and Ma, and Pa'

First place, Prose: 'Things Happen'

First place, Visual Art: 'Always Forever'

First place, Poetry: 'Spring Flowers'