WARSAW — Next week, April 25 through 28, all community members are invited to come and see “Our Town” at the Wagon Wheel and help select the first place winners of the Spring Banner Art Awards.

Forty-five students in grades 6 through 8 from Warsaw Community Schools submitted artwork for “Matilda: The Musical or Peter and the Starcatcher,” two of the Wagon Wheel summer show titles. In the past, Warsaw Rotarians have voted on the first place winners, whose banners are then hung in downtown Warsaw for the summer. 

This year, Rotary and the Wagon Wheel are holding a second round of voting open to the public to help the program grow and give the students more recognition. The student artwork will be on display in the Wagon Wheel lobby starting April 25 through April 28 alongside the Visual Art display of Al Disbro’s “Our Towns” photography. The public is invited to come during box office hours to vote or, if attending Center Street Community Theatre’s performance of “Our Town,” to vote in the evenings. Tickets for “Our Town” are only $15 and can be purchased online at www.wagonwheelcenter.org

To help raise money for the Banner Art Project, voting is done through donations: bring your spare change or small bills ($1 – $10) when you come to the box office or a performance of “Our Town” to vote and support these young artists. Money raised through the voting is used to print the first place winners’ artwork on large canvas banners that hang in downtown Warsaw. Of the forty-five entries, there will be fifteen first place winners. First place winners receive a copy of their banner as well as tickets to the show they designed artwork for. Second and third place receive tickets to the show they designed artwork for.

 “This is truly a rewarding experience for all three organizations. At the Wagon Wheel, we are dedicated to seeing young students of all trade and talent express their unique artistic skills. We are amazed each year by the talent Warsaw Community School’s art teachers coax out of these gifted students, and grateful for the partnership and support Warsaw Rotary gives to this program,” said Elisa Wise, Director of Donor Relations at Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts and the Banner Art coordinator for the Warsaw Rotary, “and this spring we are excited to partner with the whole community on voting for the winners!”