Valparaiso Resident Wins the 33rd Annual Popcorn Festival Poster Contest!

Valparaiso Community Festivals & Events (VCFE) held a contest last month for local artists to create the poster for the 33rd Annual Popcorn Festival. Valparaiso resident, Robyn Werberig, was selected as the winner of this year’s contest. Robyn has enjoyed the Popcorn Festival for many years with her husband Kyle Otten and their two daughters now age 8 and 4. “The Popcorn Festival is fun on so many levels. Our family has always participated in the 5K run – my husband Kyle runs it, I’ve walked it, and my two girls have grown up running in the Lil’ Kernel Puff races. So that kicks off our day early. Then the whole day lies ahead for booths, jump houses, and crazy food – it’s just a great kick off for fall,” She stated. Although, this was her first year participating in the contest she is certainly not new to the field of art. As a graphic designer at Porter-Starke Services and with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Drawing & Painting from University of North Texas, Robyn is a veteran in the world of art. “While I enjoy the entire process of creating art, I’m most excited and focused when I’m editing down an idea to its core message. Reducing, eliminating, and shifting things around until the essence of the idea is most simply and directly communicated - I love that part,” She stated. In addition to bragging rights, the winner receives a check for $1000 as the top prize. “Winning this contest is its own treat, but the prize money means a lot for me personally. It will help cover the costs of going to the beach in Florida this summer to distribute my father’s ashes with my family. He would’ve been over-the-top excited about all this. Lots of special connections have surfaced in the process of winning this contest.”

Robyn’s design will create the look for the event and is not only displayed on a poster, but it also appears on t-shirts, buttons and brochures for the event. The style of art she used for her design is called Pop Art and couldn’t be a more fitting style for the Popcorn Festival. The Popcorn Festival brings over 60,000 visitors to Downtown Valparaiso each year and has been named “The Best Festival in the Region” by The Times readers for 13 years. For more information about the Popcorn Festival and other events planned for this year, visit VCFE at www.valparaisoevents.com or call 464.8332.

Photo: Robyn Werberig shows off her winning poster design for the 2011 Popcorn Festival