Jessica Drouin of Pittsfield has a message for students in the Suncook Valley: Draw something that shows why you love your hometown. Or write an essay with the same goal.
There’s still time after Drouin extended the deadline to enter the annual Suncook Valley Essay and Drawing Contest, to May 6.
The contest seeks to promote the upcoming Suncook Valley Rotary Hot Air Balloon Festival, Pittsfield’s signature event and a source of great pride for the entire region.
The 40th edition of the festival, traditionally held on the first weekend in August, will be held Aug. 5 to 7 this year at Drake Field. Due to COVID, this marks the first time the rally will be held since 2019.
All pictures drawn will be displayed in the festival’s annual program. Winning essays will be included as well.
Drouin said she extended the deadline because she’s worried that non-traditional students might need more time to register than those who attend classes. As of Monday, 15 students had entered.
“I’m hopeful that by us putting it out there for homeschoolers, we will get more entries,” Drouin said. “It’s a good opportunity because all pictures will be in the Balloon Rally program for everyone to see.”
Drouin has been living in Pittsfield for just six years, having moved from Allenstown, yet she’s heavily associated with the town’s landscape, as a former school board member, the vice president and secretary of the Rotary Club, and a member of the town’s Parks and Recreation Committee.
“This,” Drouin noted, “is an opportunity to tell with words or pictures why they love their town.”
The contest is open to those who live in the Pittsfield, Epsom, Chichester, Barnstead or Loudon areas, according to the rules posted on Facebook.
Contestants will be separated into three groups: kindergarten through fifth-grade; middle school; and high school. The youngest division will be limited to drawings only, while the middle group can submit either a drawing or an essay, and the high schoolers can enter essays only.
The winners from each of the five towns in the two categories will receive a gift. “I don’t know what yet,” Drouin said.
Drouin mentioned a few entries that came to mind, including a 5th-grade boy from Pittsfield, who drew a picture of hot air balloons, in different colors. A middle school girl from Chichester wrote an essay “that she loves how the community comes together to support them,” Drouin said.
Elsewhere, a little boy from Pittsfield drew the beach area near the town pool, an Epsom third grader drew himself playing baseball, and a girl attending Pittsfield Middle High School wrote an essay, explaining that she’s relatively new to town and appreciates the efforts of the Rotary Club, the central, driving force behind the festival.
“Nicely written,” Drouin said, “and so far it’s our only essay from a high school student.”
There’s still time to enter, Drouin said. She wants more high-school-aged students to enter. In fact, she wants students of all ages to get involved, hoping that the event’s cancellations the past two years will add some energy to this year’s edition.
“This has been on the back burner, waiting,” Drouin said. “We want to see how to get the community engaged with this event. We want to keep it simple and bring it back home. What do you look forward to, and what makes you smile.”
To submit an entry to the contest or for guidelines, email suncookvalleyrotary@gmail.com.