Open to all children (ages 5-12) who live or attend school in the Rio Grande Valley
Texas Border Business –
It’s often heard at funerals, sometimes at movies and even in music from no less than Johann Sebastian Bach, Duke Ellington, and Pink Floyd; that is the 23rd Psalm. It’s the most popular writing from King David, the beloved Psalter of Israel.
“This year we’re going to see what Valley kids have to say about the 23rd Psalm,” said Carey Kinsolving, co-chair of the RGV Children’s Arts Festival. “The best artist/writer will win a vacation for his or her family to the Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch in Parshall, Colorado.”
“In addition to winning the vacation for up to five immediate family members, the winner will receive $1000 to help with travel expenses,” said Kinsolving. “All this is possible because of the generosity of our Valley sponsors, and Jerry and Cheri Helmicki of the Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch.”
Valley Gold Spur sponsors for this year included Dairy Queen, El Pato Mexican Food, orthodontist Dr. Joel Martinez, Children’s Hospital at Renaissance, pediatrician Dr. Martin Garza, Lone Star National Bank, and Melba’s Dance School.
As in the previous two years, Carey and Lisa Kinsolving plan to publish the best writing and artwork from festival entries in an online book. RGV Children’s Arts Festival guidelines, entry forms and questions can be found at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/rgv. The festival is open to all children (ages 5-12) who live or attend school in the Rio Grande Valley. There is no entry fee. The deadline is December 19.
Although this year’s winner, Angela Martinez, 13, had the best vacation ever, she and her family saw something unusual not reported by previous winners. The snowmelt from the late winter caused the Colorado River to crest so that the Martinez cabin stood only a few feet from its rushing waters.
Even though the ranch staff had sandbags ready, they joked with guests about floating down the Colorado River while sleeping in their cabins as being an added feature of this year’s vacation activities. The Martinez family of five enjoyed many riding trails during their stay, but none of them included riding through the river as in times of normal mountain runoff. Festival winner Angela Martinez is the daughter of Javier and Azucena Martinez of Pharr.
“I could say that Angela won this year’s festival because she has heart,” said Kinsolving. “Two of her three winning art pieces on heaven had a lot of little hearts in them.”
Angela’s heart also showed in her perseverance. She entered the festival two years in a row. In her first attempt, she came in third place. TBB
