T-shirt design contest underway for balloon fest

SIKESTON — The 2024 Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival is adding a splash of color to the skies and wardrobes alike with a first-ever T-shirt design contest.

Festival organizers invite attendees to express their creativity and love for this event through their unique designs. There will be only one winner. 

Designs must be original art, never published before, according to the Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival committee.

The Sikeston Regional Chamber of Commerce will award a $100 prize to the winner of the T-shirt design contest.

The winner will also receive a prize package for the 2024 Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival as well as recognition as the official 2024 Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival Artist.

Entries may be emailed as a JPG file or PDF document to Taylor Deere, Membership and Program Director at Sikeston Regional Chambers, at taylor.deere@sikeston.net, or mailed to 128 N. New Madrid St., Sikeston, MO 63801.

“I think it’s a great way to shine a light on local artists and talent and it will be fun to look back over what we hope is many years of this event and see the unique designs year after year,” Deere said.

The Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival Committee looked at several other hot air ballon festivals for inspiration, and they noticed many of them had an art contest each year and thought it would be a great idea to give the community the same opportunity, Deere said.

According to the Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival Committee, art in file format should be in vector format, such as illustrator (.EPS or .AI), Photoshop .PSD, high resolution 300 DPI type/copy (fonts provided) on layers.

Vertical designs must be no larger than 16 inches by 20 inches. There is no entry fee and a limit of one entry per artist.

Deere said to be considered, entries must include “Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival 2024” in the design.

The artist’s name and phone number should be on the back of their artwork or included in their email.

The deadline for entering T-shirt designs is 4 p.m. Jan. 26, 2024.

According to Deere, the committee will select their top choices before putting the finalists up for a Facebook vote in late January, with the winner announced shortly after.

“This gives the community a voice in selecting the winner while also helping to spread the word on social media about our event,” Deere said.

The chosen design will become the property of the Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival Committee, and the artist must create a five-color, screen-print ready poster design suitable for reproduction.

There must be five distinct colors, one of which must be black, and no color blending or shading. 

The Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival Committee will keep all proceeds from the sale of the T-shirt as well as the exclusive right to produce it. 

The committee will also retain the exclusive right to use the poster, poster art, and any details thereof in color, black and white, and/or any variation in promotional materials in perpetuity, including but not limited to brochures, flyers, print advertisements, web pages and television promotions.

The second annual Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival will take place June 21-23, 2024, at the Sikeston Jaycee Rodeo Grounds.