A Flowering Tree Photo Contest sponsored by the Norwalk Tree Alliance has been expanded to provide for a special prize category for images taken by children 12 years of age and younger.
Prizes in each age group are to be awarded — and the photos displayed — at the Connecticut Tree Festival in Cranbury Park May 16 (Saturday) from 11 to 3.
The contest is open to residents of Fairfield County for images taken in the county, black-and-white or color, submitted on 8- by 10-inch photographic-grade paper in uncreased condition, one photo per contestant.
Photos should show a tree in flower, taken at any time of the year. They become the property of the Norwalk Tree Alliance and will not be returned.
Submissions must include the photographer’s name, address, phone number, and email address, location of the tree, the species and the date the image was taken.
Photos should be submitted by 1 p.m. on May 11 to the Customer Service Center, Room 224, at the Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue.
Additional information is available by calling 203-847-1600 or via email at ntact@ymail.com
The festival
Everything at the festival is free — admission, parking, chances on door prizes, even picnic-style lunch for everybody. Exhibitors pay nothing for space or their booths, nor are they permitted to sell products or services on the property. Upward of 40 of them lined the park’s Great Lawn last year when the festival drew more than 2,200 attendees, young and old, a high for foot traffic over the years.
The day showcases a diverse lineup of ecologically oriented exhibitors encircled by hands-on demonstrations by experts in tree-planting and care. For the younger set, there are bucket-truck rides to the treetops and a rope tree-climb with the kids secured in harnesses, plus live animals, face painting and crafts.
A gallery showing of painting, sculpture and mixed media has meanwhile been arranged as an added dimension to the festival for the second consecutive year. The exhibit is called A Community of Trees, to be launched at the Gilbert & Bennett Cultural Center, 49 New Street in Wilton, April 19 until May 31.
On festival day, May 16, the work of younger artists is also to be displayed at the Gallaher Mansion and terrace in Cranbury Park.