First Lady Cathy Justice is inviting all West Virginia students to participate in the 19th annual First Lady Student Ornament Competition.
All kindergarten through 12th-grade students who are public, private, or home-schooled are encouraged to “Deck the Halls with Doggy Paws” by creating a “dog” themed Christmas ornament to honor West Virginia’s canine companions. When creating their ornament, classes are asked to focus on West Virginia’s Friends With Paws school therapy dogs or Babydog Justice. The ornaments will be on display at the Culture Center in Charleston during the holiday season.
Design and submission information for the 2023 First Lady Student Ornament Competition can be found at https://governor.wv.gov/News/press-releases/2023/Pages/First-Lady-Cathy-Justice-invites-students-to-create-ornaments-for-the-2023-First-Lady-Student-Ornament-Competition.aspx.
Ornaments will be classified in four divisions according to grade: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each ornament will be individually judged and four winning classes will be selected, one from each division. In January 2024, the winning ornaments will be donated to the West Virginia State Museum for a permanent collection.
The ornaments and the Christmas tree will be unveiled in conjunction with Joyful Night, the annual holiday celebration at the State Capitol held in early December. The four winning classes will receive a gift card to help purchase supplies for their class.
Ornaments must be received by Nov. 17 to be eligible for judging.
Students may mail their entries to Elizabeth Yeager, Department of Arts, Culture and History, The Culture Center, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Charleston, WV 25305.
With their submission, students MUST include their contact information (phone, email, mailing address, teacher name, school and class).
For questions please contact Elizabeth Yeager by email at elizabeth.a.yeager@wv.gov.
