High Plains Snow Goose Festival Announces 2nd Annual Photography Contest!

The High Plains Snow Goose Festival in partnership with the Lamar Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Southeast Colorado Arts Council is sponsoring its 2^nd annual photography contest and is seeking entries that will feature Southeast Colorado. Entries are being accepted December 12, 2016 to February 10, 2017.

This contest is open to the general public and both amateur and professional photographers are encouraged to participate. Adult and Youth participants can enter images in the following categories: Wildlife, Landscape, Birds, Historical and Waterfowl (Committee’s Choice). “We are excited to announce a new category this year; the Committee’s Choice topic will change each subsequent year. The planning committee felt that having a changing topic would add a continuing challenge for participants and we really wanted to see the adult verses youth perspective in the entries for the new topic,” said Committee Chair Vincent Gearhart. Photos must be taken within the last year and represent Southeast Colorado. Adult entries are only a minimal fee of $5.00 per photo entered and youth entries (18 and under) are free. A portion of the proceeds collected in entry fees will be given to the Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo to support raptor center operations.

People’s Choice Winner for First Annual Photo Contest – Linda Bourne

Prizes will be awarded to one photo in each category (Bird, Wildlife, Landscape, Historical and Waterfowl (Committee’s Choice) and in each age group (Adult and Youth). The prize for each category for Adult will be $100.00 in Lamar Chamber of Commerce LUV Bucks and for Youth, $50.00 in Lamar Chamber of Commerce LUV Bucks for the four repeating categories. The Committee’s Choice category will have a special prize of a Go Pro Camera for the Adult group and a set of binoculars for the Youth. A People’s Choice winner will also be awarded $150.00 in Lamar Chamber of Commerce LUV Bucks. There will also be an honorable mention photo in each category.

For registration forms and details on the contest rules, visit High Plains Snow Goose Festival’s website at www.highplainssnowgoose.com  or call 719-336-4379.

First Annual Photo Contest Bird Category Winner – Jill Smith

Join avid birders and historians for this three-day festival that offers a variety of programs, field trips, and seminars that celebrate birding, watchable wildlife and historical heritage in Southeastern Colorado. Participants can watch approximately 30,000 geese take off from local reservoirs and fly to their feeding grounds. Flocks numbering in the tens of thousands make for an impressive sight. Hundreds of bird species migrate through Southeastern Colorado each year, but the migration of snow geese is by far the most spectacular.

Stay up to date by visiting our Facebook page. Just search for High Plains Snow Goose Festival. For more information about the High Plains Snow Goose & Heritage History Festival go to:  www.highplainssnowgoose.com.