Posters

Potomac Heights Elementary School last month held a poster contest focusing on the theme “Friendly Dragons Don't Bully.” All students created posters during their art classes. The posters were judged by parents, family members and community members. First- and second-place ribbons were awarded to two girls and two boys in each grade. Posters were given to a number of local restaurants to showcase the student art and reinforce the anti-bullying theme in the community.

Posters displaying images of aborted fetuses will line the streets at the intersection of Walnut and West Washington streets on Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. when the anti-abortion group Defend Life stops in Hagerstown on its fifth annual Face the Truth Tour, the group's director said Friday. The Baltimore-based group expects about 30 anti-abortion advocates to turn out, but has a total of 110 signs and invites locals to join the protest, director Missy Smith said. The posters will be displayed every 10 feet and progress from an image of a healthy baby to in-utero fetuses to, after a warning sign, graphic photos of aborted fetuses, including one with its head removed.

wandaw@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Students in Ellen Smith's typography design class at Hagerstown Community College exceeded her expectations when they designed posters based on their interpretations of a quote by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "They knew it was going to be an important project, and they rose to the occasion," Smith said. The posters were created at the request of the HCC's Multicultural Committee in honor of the college's King holiday celebration in January.

Students at Lincolnshire and Maugansville elementary schools and Clear Spring Middle School participated in a contest to create posters with drug-free messages Oct. 23 to 31 during National Red Ribbon Week, according to a press release from the Washington County Health Department, sponsor of the activity. The posters were designed to deliver smart, drug-free messages for adults and students, according to the release. More than 800 posters were displayed in the three schools during the week, according to the release.

By RICHARD F. BELISLE Staff Writer CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - In the 1930s, when Walter Ward, manager of the Capitol Theatre in downtown Chambersburg, wanted to promote an especially big or important movie coming to his theater, he would ask Harry "Rip" Rossman to paint a poster to advertise the film. The posters, which usually carried a likeness of the main actors and actresses plus an illustration or two on what the movie was about, were mounted in glass-fronted cases attached to several downtown buildings.

They were meant to inspire a nation with bold images and powerful words. Posters were a way for governments to justify a war, bolster morale or motivate citizens to enlist in the armed forces during World War I and World War II. On Sunday, James P. McNally III, the curator of art for the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center in Carlisle, Pa., discussed the posters at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. The posters are part of the exhibit titled "Designing for Victory 1914-1945: Posters from the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center.

As part of the nationwide Red Ribbon Week celebration in schools Oct. 23 to 31, students at Lincolnshire and Maugansville elementary schools created posters with a drug-free message to display in their schools. The students each created a poster designed to deliver a drug-free choice for adults and students. The students with the winning posters received awards for their "Say No to Drugs" messages and poster designs. More than 700 posters were displayed in the two schools for students and the public to view.

By DAVE McMILLION Staff Writer Maryland's rigorous academic tests for public school students are not limited to the classroom anymore. State education officials are encouraging parents to make them part of their activities at home. A series of posters being distributed by the Maryland Department of Education shows parents the type of questions their children face in the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. Not only do the posters explain to parents the type of education their youngsters are receiving, but parents can use them to help their children practice for the annual test, officials said.

Kurt and Margaret "Peggy" Cushwa and have never missed a Blues Fest and they've got the posters to prove it. The Cushwas' collection of posters from the annual Western Maryland Blues Fest are part of an exhibit on view at the Washington County Arts Council's gallery downtown. Fourteen posters are on display, for Blues Fests from 1996 to 2009. The only poster missing is this year's. The exhibit's opening reception is from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 3. The exhibit continues through Saturday, June 19. Peggy Cushwa said she and Kurt planned to attend the reception.

jennifers@herald-mail.com Graphic pictures of aborted fetuses on the side of a tractor-trailer-sized truck will be part of a demonstration next week. The Defend Life group is sponsoring a Truth Tour, during which group members will walk the sidewalks along West Washington and Walnut streets in downtown Hagerstown Monday from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Participants will carry a series of posters depicting aborted fetuses, said Jack Ames, director of Defend Life. He said the first posters in the series will warn people of the graphic nature of the posters that follow.

Allegany Dental Care announced the winners of its sixth annual poster contest. Second-graders in Washington County public and private schools were invited to create a picture using the theme “There's Magic in Your Smile.” The poster contest is run in conjunction with National Children's Dental Health Month, which is in February. The goal is to promote good oral health in children and adults. Nine schools participated this year and at each school Allegany selected a first-, second-, and third-place winner.

Pen-Mar Regional Association of Realtors is seeking entries for a poster contest from children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Illustrations will be judged and those selected will be forwarded to Maryland Association of Realtors as potential entries in its annual 2014 Fair Housing Poster Contest. Winners will be featured in the association's 2014 calendar. This year's theme is “Diversity Makes Great Neighborhoods.” Artwork can be delivered to the Pen-Mar office at 300 Cameo Drive in Hagerstown.

Maugansville Elementary celebrated Red Ribbon Week the week of Oct. 22 to 26 with the theme, “I'm Voting for My Future - I'm Drug Free.”  The week's events and motivational items were sponsored by the PTA.  On Monday, Oct. 22, all grades participated by receiving backpack tags with the stay drug free week theme.  Tuesday, Oct. 23, was Red, White and Blue Day. All students were encouraged to be patriotic and keep the country drug free. ...

The City of Hagerstown has put out a call for artists who want to be their 2013 Western Maryland Blues Fest poster creator. City spokeswoman Erin Wolfe said in a news release that the city's Blues Fest committee and the Washington County Arts Council are looking for visual artists to submit their work by Nov. 16. The 18th annual Western Maryland Blues Fest is scheduled for May 30 through June 2, 2013. “Each year we get so excited reviewing the submitted art. Our 'Call to Artists' for Blues Fest 2012 was our most successful ever, with over 45 very cool and creative ideas,” said Carl Disque, founder and event chair for the Blues Fest.

Thunder mixed with the up-tempo sounds of circus music Wednesday as 156 playing members of Windjammers Unlimited rehearsed. The organization's members from across the United States and Canada have descended on Liberty Mountain Resort this week. The instrumentalists are recording music for preservation and preparing for a pair of free concerts this weekend. “We're rehearsing 59 pieces. We will be playing 19 at the concerts,” said Waynesboro, Pa., resident William Link, event organizer.

Blues music might not be listed in Kate Fortin's top favorite musical genres, but that doesn't mean the 25-year-old artist can't appreciate how the music makes people feel. It's being able to express that feeling on canvas might be one reason Fortin was named as the Western Maryland Blues Artist for 2012. Her "Bluesman on Stage" acrylic painting was chosen as the motif of this year's exhibit and can be seen everywhere associated with this year's festival. According to Mary Anne Burke, executive director of Washington County Arts Council, this year's Blues Fest committee received 45 submissions from 28 artists.

Shepherd University junior graphic design major Adam Ritchey, of Greencastle, Pa., won the Poster Clash event at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center in Frederick, Md., on Friday, March 30. The nationwide contest is hosted by the Blue Ridge American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Poster Clash. Melissa Scotton, assistant professor in the Department of Contemporary Art and Theater, said she assigned the poster clash project to her Professional Practices I students as a fun project while they work on preparing their portfolios for sophomore portfolio review.

Potomac Heights Elementary School last month held a poster contest focusing on the theme “Friendly Dragons Don't Bully.” All students created posters during their art classes. The posters were judged by parents, family members and community members. First- and second-place ribbons were awarded to two girls and two boys in each grade. Posters were given to a number of local restaurants to showcase the student art and reinforce the anti-bullying theme in the community.

Hancock High School Athletic Director Bill Sterner has announced that the All-American Sports Posters Co. is preparing the fall issue of the school's sports poster and schedule.  Local businesses, clubs, churches and other organizations are invited to help by sponsoring an ad for the poster. All contributions help the Hancock Athletic Boosters with equipment and funding for the sports programs at the high school.  For more information, call Sterner at 301-766-8191. Bandana to perform Mark your calendars now for a concert by Bandana on Saturday, March 10, at 7 p.m. at the Hancock Performing Arts Center in Town Hall, 126 W. High St.  Admission costs $2 to hear this local group of talented young musicians.

The city of Hagerstown's Western Maryland Blues Fest committee, in collaboration with the Washington County Arts Council, has extended the deadline for the 2012 Western Maryland Blues Fest poster artist submissions to Thursday, Oct. 27, at 4 p.m.. Each year, the committee and the arts council find an artist who creates an original work that is used to advertise for the festival, which is held annually in Hagerstown. The winning original artwork is commissioned by the arts council and the city, and is seen on posters, T-shirts, programs and other promotional material.