1. Contest Overview: The Executive Board of the Mead Road Mardi Gras Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc. (“MRMG”), a nonprofit charitable organization, is excited to announce its first annual Kids’ Poster Design Contest (the“Contest”)! We invite young artists from CSD schools to submit their original poster designs that capture the spirit of our community’s annual Mead Road Mardi Gras parade, which will be held on March 1, 2025. The winning poster will be featured as the official parade poster for this year’s event!

2. Eligibility: The Contest is open to all students in grades K through 12, aged between 5 and 19 years, currently enrolled in City Schools of Decatur (CSD). Each participant may only submit one poster design (a “Submission”) to the Contest.

3. Contest Theme: Each Submission should reflect the themes and values of Mardi Gras and MRMG: community, creativity, celebration, arts education, and charity.

4. Submission Requirements:

   (a) Contest participants must make their Submission either:

(i) as a high-resolution digital file (JPEG, PNG, or PDF) or

(ii) on 8.5" x 11" paper using our official submission form.

(b) Digital Submissions must be emailed to info@mrmg.org.

(c) Paper Submissions, on the official form, must be dropped off in the labeled dropbox at 162 Mead Rd.

(d) All artwork in each Submission must be original and created entirely by the participant.

(e) No copyrighted or licensed characters, logos, or symbols may be used in any Submission.

(f) All Submissions must be accompanied by the participant’s name, grade, school, and contact information (parent/guardian email and phone number).

5. Submission Deadline: All Submissions must be received by 6:00 p.m. on January 1, 2025.

6. Judging Criteria: A panel of judges from the MRMG Executive Board, with input from CSD art teachers, will evaluate Submissions and determine Contest winners in their sole and absolute discretion based on the following criteria:

(a) Creativity and originality.

(b) Representation of the Mardi Gras themes and values of community, creativity, celebration, arts education, and charity.

(c) Overall artistic quality.

7. Prizes:

(a) 1st Place : The winning Submission will be featured on the official parade poster, and the artist will receive a “prize package” (including a t-shirt, yard sign, parade throw, sticker, and a copy of the poster). The 1st place winner will also be invited to march in the MRMG Parade as its Grand Marshall on March 1, 2025.

(b) 2nd Place : The 2nd place Submission will be featured on this year's parade sticker, and the artist will receive the “prize package”.

(c) 3rd Place : The artist of the 3rd place Submission will receive the “prize package”.

8. Terms & Conditions: By entering a Submission into the Contest, participants and their parent(s)/guardian(s) make the following representations and agree to the following terms and conditions:

(a) Any Submission is the original work of the participant and was created specifically for the Contest.

(b) MRMG reserves the right to use, modify, reproduce, and distribute any Submission for promotional purposes without compensation to the participant.

(c) MRMG has the right to use any Submission in perpetuity in its promotional materials or for any other purposes in furtherance of MRMG’s charitable objectives.

(d) MRMG is not responsible for lost, damaged, or incomplete Submissions.

(e) The decision of the MRMG judging panel is final and binding.

(f) The Contest may be void where prohibited by law.

(g) The prizes listed in Section 7 above are subject to change at the sole and absolute discretion of MRMG.