Mayfest Seeks Submissions for Youth Art Gallery and Volunteers

Students’ artwork will be on display during the festival in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

Organizers of Tulsa International Mayfest, scheduled to take place May 14 through 17 in the heart of beautiful downtown Tulsa, are asking students in the Tulsa area to submit artwork for the 2009 Youth Art Gallery. Students’ artwork will be on display during the festival in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

The Youth Art Gallery will showcase the artwork of students grades K-12. Each student may submit one entry that has been completed within the 2008-2009 school year. Work that has been produced with commercial kits, prefabricated forms or other commercial methods is not allowed. 

All students are eligible for cash prizes (three in each age category). In addition, Mayfest is pleased to announce that the PSO Mark of Excellence Award ($500 cash) will again be available to one high school student for outstanding creativity and technique. 

“PSO is proud to sponsor the Youth Art Gallery and is excited to continue to honor one young Tulsa artist with the PSO Mark of Excellence Award,” said Carole Huff Hicks, community affairs manager, Public Service Company of Oklahoma. “The arts play such an important part in education, and we are pleased to support Mayfest’s efforts to bring art to the forefront of young people’s lives.”

Students attending private, public or home schools in Tulsa County are invited to submit. Students can visit www.tulsamayfest.org to download a submission form, which needs to be completed and turned in with the artwork to the Performing Arts Center LaFortune Studio between 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. 

Mayfest organizers are also seeking general volunteers, who are vital to the festival’s success. Each year, volunteers log thousands of hours, making Mayfest the nationally renowned event that it has become. 

Both individual and corporate team volunteers are needed for the following categories: coupon sales, beverage sales, souvenir sales, Youth Art Gallery host, College Gallery host, KidZone activities, and artist relations. The festival needs approximately 800 volunteers over the four-day event. Volunteer shifts are approximately three to four hours each, and volunteers are welcome to work one or more shifts throughout the festival.

To join the amazing team of 2009 Mayfest volunteers, visit www.tulsamayfest.org to download a volunteer application, or contact Mayfest Volunteer Coordinator Barbara Pendleton at (918) 951-1664.

All volunteers will receive a $5-off coupon for official Mayfest merchandise as well as a special button featuring the 2009 poster artwork, which is not available for purchase.

Mayfest is presented by MidFirst Bank. Other sponsors include The Children’s Hospital at St. Francis, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Crowne Plaza and OSU-Tulsa.

For more information, contact

Tulsa International Mayfest

(918) 582-6435

www.tulsamayfest.org