Events of Monday, November 1, 2021

34th Annual Jackson Storyfest.  The Jackson District Library’s 34^th Annual Storyfest returns November 1-6, 2021. This year’s theme – Storytelling Through the Arts – captures the many fun and creative forms of storytelling, from spoken word to song and dance. We are excited to partner with local organizations and professional storytellers to bring a unique storytelling experience to the Jackson Community.  For a full list of Storyfest events, visit our Storyfest page here.

Hot Air Jubilee Art Contest.  The Hot Air Jubilee is hosting an art contest!  The contest is open to legal residents of the State of Michigan. Contestants must be age 13 or older at time of entry.  Parents or guardians of minors under the age of 13 can submit entries on behalf of their minor(s). The Hot Air Jubilee is looking for art submissions that will be used in marketing the 2022 festival.  Visit www.hotairjubilee.com/art-contest-rules and follow all onscreen instructions to complete the official entry form.  Find the complete rules here.

NaNoWriMo.  Always wanted to be a writer? Working through writer’s block? In celebration of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) JDL invites you to write/submit your short story on this year’s ConCon theme, Reanimation.  Submission Guidelines:  This contest is open to anyone ages 18+. Stories must be no more than 5,000 words in length, with themes of reanimation or reinvention (whatever that means to you!). Submission period is November 1-15 and winners will be announced Nov. 29. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 stories.  Entries should be submitted via email to community@myjdl.com with your name, phone number and pen name (if applicable).  Need inspiration to get started (or finally finish that story you’ve been working on)? Check out these NaNoWriMo resources.  National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo for short) is an annual writeathon that takes place during the month of November each year.  Writers around the world attempt to write 50,000 words of fiction between the 1st and 30th of November. Founded by writer Chris Baty in 1999, NaNoWriMo has grown from 21 participants in its first year to hundreds of thousands of registered participants annually.  JDL is an official NaNoWriMo Come Write In space for 2021.

Art and Photo Contest.  The Center for Family Health has announced it is holding an art and photo contest in conjunction with the health center’s 30th-anniversary celebration.    The contest is open to all professional and amateur artists or photographers living in Jackson, Michigan, aged 12 and up. Traditional, contemporary, avant-garde, creative, and experimental works in all mediums, styles, and disciplines as well as photographic works that include old and new processes are allowed. Photographers working with digital or traditional photography or combinations of both are also allowed.   Entries will be evaluated by a jury and displayed at the Center for Family Health.  All featured artists and photographers will be invited to an opening reception.  

Prize Categories include:

Ages 12-14:  1st place -$500, 2nd place – $250, 3rd place – $125

Ages 15-18:  1st place -$500, 2nd place – $250, 3rd place – $125

Ages 19+:      1st place -$1,000, 2nd place – $600, 3rd place – $300

The entry deadline is Tuesday, November 23, 4 PM.  For complete rules, guidelines, and application to enter the contest, please visit https://centerforfamilyhealth.org/art-and-photo-contest/

Tinkergarten Fall Class.  Tinkergarten is created by experts and loved by children and their families! It’s a weekly class that meets outdoors for an hour of nature-based play, insights to help you learn alongside your child, research-based benefits of nature, socialization, and learning that is child-led. Enroll today to be a part of this amazing community of parents and children! Our season will be emphasizing FOCUS to help children build executive functioning skills like self-regulation among other skills. We will meet at beautiful Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve!  http://www.tinkergarten.com