Creative Competition

A brightly coloured musical montage will mark the front cover of this year’s Ilkley Carnival programme as the winner of the 2019 creative competition.

This year’s vibrant entry is the masterpiece of 12-year-old Ilkley Grammar School pupil Loen Scott, whose design will feature on the front cover of the carnival programme seen by around 10,000 visitors at the shows and musicals themed event on Monday 6 May.

As well as hitting the front-page spread, Loen will receive a goody bag from Bettys Café Tea rooms and an art prize donated by the competition sponsors, Bradford Grammar School.

Chairman of the Ilkley Carnival committee, Andrew Stacey, said: “This year’s competition has seen our most entries ever and has brought with them a phenomenal standard of artwork. It was incredibly difficult to select just one winner, but Loen’s bright musical collage stood out to all our judges. We also had a number of excellent entries which have been named category winners and some very impressive second place pieces from a number of different schools. We were blown away to receive so many wonderful creations.”

All category winners will receive their artwork framed by Weaverbirds in Ilkley. This year’s 6-8-year-olds category was won by Olivia Rix (7) of Moorfield School and the 9-11-year-olds by Martha Dobson (11) from Ashlands Primary School. Both winners will also enjoy a bespoke arts workshop from themselves and their classmates at sponsors Bradford Grammar School; once the start-place of internationally renowned artist David Hockney.

Simon Hinchliffe, headteacher of Bradford Grammar School, said the school’s art department highly anticipated meeting Olivia, Martha and their classmates in the summer. He added: “We love to inspire children to get creative and encourage them to nurture their talents. Ilkley is clearly a hotspot for artistic potential and we can’t wait to see what they produce in our afternoon workshop of arts and crafts.”

Claire Harris, head of Art at Ilkley Grammar School, added: “We are so proud of Loen and are blown away by the standard of her entry. She really put so much effort into her concept and execution and she’s thrilled by how much it paid off. The art prize presented by Bradford Grammar school will allow Loen to hone in on her artistic flair and create many more fabulous pieces.”

Ilkley Carnival, sponsored by online learning provider High Speed Training, will take place on 6 May. The 1,000 strong parade, sponsored by Anytime Fitness, will begin on The Grove and finishes at East Holmes Field on Denton Road. Family entertainment will run throughout the day and main events include the annual dog show, classic car show and a soon-to-be-revealed headline act.

All profits raised from Ilkley Carnival go back into the community, with this year’s primary beneficiary, Ilkley Town football Club, receiving 50% of the profits. If you’d like to show your support by sponsoring the carnival or volunteering your time, please contact Andrew Stacey on 07951 890836.

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