Click to see some photos from the 2008 Farm Animal Frenzy Competition
For a couple of years, we’ve had a crazy competition for high school art classes called the Farm Animal Frenzy. In the past, each school was given a large, fiberglass farm animal to decorate, and compete to see which farm animal best fits the current State Fair theme.
Over time, we inherited a large collection of eclectic farm animals because some schools couldn’t take back their creation after the Fair for one reason or another. Being the resourceful people that we are, we have found other interesting ways to use these animals, such as in certain videos, but quickly realized that we would have a fiberglass herd before long.
So, this year, we decided to add a new twist to the competition — Farm Animal Frenzy is going green! Instead of a pre-made animal, each participating school receives a wooden saw horse to use as a frame to design and paint or decorate an “environmentally conscious” farm animal around this year’s theme, “A Whole Lotta Happy.” Farm animals have to be built using a minimum of 80% recycled or recyclable materials such as old toys, used car parts, newspapers, cans, bottles, fabric, CDs, etc. The other 20% can come from natural materials like rocks, sticks and leaves, and construction materials like nails, glue and tape are acceptable.
The change in the rules means that participating students and teachers will need to get creative in how they design and build an animal, keeping in mind that it has to withstand the outdoor Carolina (and Fair) elements for about two weeks.
We opened the competition to high schools in Wake, Durham, Orange, Harnett, Johnston and Chatham counties and have received a nice list of competitors:
- Apex High School
- Athens Drive High School
- Needham B. Broughton High School
- Cresset Christian Academy
- Durham School of the Arts
- East Chapel Hill High School
- Fuquay Varina High School
- Garner Magnet High School
- Hillside High School
- Holly Springs High School
- Northern High School
- Panther Creek High School
- Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School
- Wakefield High School
- West Johnston High School
Each competing school gets $500 to help stock the art class with materials and cover transportation costs, in addition to a 3-foot tall, wooden saw horse.
For all of their hard work, the Grand Prize winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize and bragging rights for the next year. Second place get $750, and $500 will go to the third place winner. There will also be a People’s Choice award, which will be determined through online voting that starts on opening day, Thrusday, Oct. 15. We’ll announce the People’s Choice winner on Thursday, Oct. 22, so be sure to come out to the Fair and pick your favorite “green” Farm Animal Frenzy competitor.
