2012 T-SHIRT ART CONTEST WINNERS

Will Mauritsen - Children's Winner

Will Mauritsen is a second-grader at Ridgeview Elementary in Belgrade. As you'd expect, Will enjoys drawing and painting, both at school and at home. He especially enjoys working with colored pencils.

Will put a lot of thought into his t-shirt design. He knew he didn't want to include a background, since it would look better on a t-shirt without one. He wanted the design to be original, and to include a patch of sweet peas.

He first drew the design with pencil, then used Sharpie to outline it, and finished up with water colors. Will was dissatisfied with his first design and started over. His first attempt had sunflowers, and he figured it would be better to use sweet peas, even though they are harder to draw because of their irregular-shaped petals and twisty stems.

This turned out to be a good decision, because his second try went on to be selected as the winning children's entry!

Visit our blog to read Will's complete interview.

Eric Naiman - Adult Winner

This year's Adult t-shirt art contest winner is Eric Naiman. He and his family have only been in Bozeman for two years, but they were big Sweet Pea fans even before they came to live here and volunteered at the gates selling wristbands within the first week after arriving to town.

In his design, Eric sought to capture the fun, excitement, and personality of the Festival. Through a dynamic yet simple three-color design that emphasized a custom, hand-drawn font created just for the shirt design, as well as clean design and color concepts. Eric says he was inspired to go for a retro look because this year is the 35th anniversary of the Sweet Pea Festival in Bozeman, and it was his goal to celebrate this landmark year in the design.

Artist Spotlight: Cure for the Common

If you're looking for some music with "one part funk, two parts everything else" then the band, Cure for the Common will be THE music event to attend at this year's Sweet Pea Festival.

Known locally for their high energy shows, the band has grown a strong regional fan base. Notoriety has allowed them to accompany such popular musical acts as the John Butler Trio, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Bassnectar, Blackalicious and more. The band features Logan Stahley on the trumpet and synthesizer, Joe Sheehan on the drums and vocals, Jordan Rodenbiker on the bass and vocals, Weston Lewis on the guitar and lead vocals and Garrett Rhinard on the keys and lead vocals.

So if you have yet to experience their "cure" of music that is "freeing funky minds everywhere"- come join us as Cure for the Common takes on the Main Stage on Saturday, August 4.

For more information about the band, visit their website: www.curetheband.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Our website has a new look. Check it out!

Sweet Pea Art Show

Artwork delivery day: July 27, 2012
Entry form

Sweet Pea Ball

July 28th, Baxter Ballroom Tickets: $15/person, at the door.

Parade & Flower Show

Theme: "Tropical Paradise"

Applications and information

Children's Run

Application

In-person registration available through July 31 at Beall Park Recreation Center (415 N. Bozeman Ave)

Final registration August 1-3 at First Security Bank (670 S. 19th)

Festival time:

Friday, August 3-Sunday, August 5, 2012.

Volunteers:

Visit our website or call our main office at 586.4003 for more information.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Sarah Tidd

Merchandising Division Coordinator

In her own words: I work for Oracle as a Release Manager. I married my best friend Will last summer and he is a great unofficial merchandise committee member! We have a Labradoodle, Lucy that we adore. In the warm months we keep busy mountain biking, playing soccer, running and hiking. We love the snow and get outside to Nordic and alpine ski as much as possible. We look forward to trying our first triathlon this summer!

I have lived in Bozeman for 10 years. I came as a student to MSU and wanted to stick around after graduating. I began working for RightNow Technologies in 2008 and that was how I connected with people that volunteer for Sweet Pea and got involved myself. I was the T-shirt Chair in 2010 and 2011 and now I'm the Merchandise Division Coordinator. I have enjoyed volunteering for the Festival because of the people. It has been fun to connect with new people and work for a common cause, the Arts! The T-shirt chair position was fun and exciting because I got to choose color options and see all the art that came in from the contests. The best part of that position was notifying the contest winners that they won, what is better than telling someone they won!?! My current position as the MDC is a new and exciting challenge to coordinate and keep my committee moving in the right direction. Our committee is lots of fun and we like to meet over dinner each month to do work, but also to be friends and hang out!

I love the Festival because it is such an awesome celebration of our beautiful Bozeman summers! With such long winters, we earn it! The feel at the Festival is truly unique. If I had to choose a favorite part, I would say the arts and crafts booths. I love shopping and wandering through the trees- it's awesome!