Fresh crocus photos to get prizes at Arden
- Details
- Published on Friday, April 8, 2016
Photo by John Dietz. On April 4, this early crocus sprout was spotted in an Arden crocus patch.
Submitted article
Lansdowne Heritage Resources and Tourism Committee
It’s time to take fresh pictures of the Manitoba prairie crocus.
More than $500 in prize money is available for winners in the 2016 Crocus Photo Contest at Arden, MB. Entries close at midnight Saturday, April 30. Photos will be printed, judged and displayed a week later at Arden’s Crocus Festival on Saturday, May 7.
Lansdowne Heritage Resources & Tourism Committee (LHRTC) sponsors the annual contest in conjunction with a photography store. This year’s commercial sponsor, Winnipeg Photo Central, will print each photo and judge the entries.
Contest photos must be as fresh as the season - taken in April, anywhere in Manitoba. Normal full-bloom stage is about a week on either side of April 15.
Photographers focus on open, full blooms. If you can find them, crocus buds also can make a captivating photo, says John Dietz, event organizer.
Prairie croci can be found at many scattered, unmarked patches in Manitoba. The fragile, mauve-colored wildflower prefers sandy, sunny and undisturbed native grassland.
Arden still has a few acres at the north end of the village where thousands of crocus blooms can be found normally for a few days. They also bloom close to the CPR tracks. Visiting photographers are welcome.
The crocus photo contest is a ‘natural’ for Arden, says Dietz. “People love to photograph the prairie procus. This contest gives them a chance to display and share their photos. We expect to see some stunning photography and a lot of good-natured discussion in the new crocus photo gallery.”
The Arden Crocus Festival began in 2001 and is held on the first Saturday in May. The Crocus Photo Contest began in 2009.
Prize structure
There are no fees for entering the photo contest and there are no admission fees for the Crocus Festival.
Details can be obtained from the municipal website www.ardenmb.ca, where previous winners are displayed.
The contest is open for all residents of Manitoba, except professional photographers.
Sponsors put up cash for 16 prizes in four categories, with separate competitions for youth and adults.
A second judging event takes place at the Crocus Festival headquarters, the Arden Community Centre.
Festival visitors participate by voting for one youth and one adult crocus photo. The most popular photo of the day receives the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by the Manitoba Cooperator newspaper.
The hall can accommodate approximately 160 photos in 8x10-inch format.
The four classes include portraits of a single crocus flower, portraits of crocus clusters (3 or more flowers), portraits of crocus in its natural prairie habitat and creative crocus portraits that don’t fit the other classes.
Digital entries can be submitted to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
As an option, prints can be left at the RM of Glenella-Lansdowne office in Arden or at Photo Central in Winnipeg. They can be mailed to: Crocus Photo Contest, P O Box 141, Arden MB R0J 0B0.
