Contact: NOVEC Public Relations, 1-888-335-0500, customerservice@novec.com
Eight winners live in Northern Virginia
MANASSAS, Va. — Mihika Dusad, the 9-year-old daughter of Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) members Meenal and Amit Dusad, has earned “Best in Show” honors in Cooperative Living magazine’s 2016 Youth Art Contest.
For the 14th annual contest, open to kindergarten through fifth grade students in electric cooperative families in Virginia and a section of Tennessee, young artists were asked to illustrate “My Favorite Hobby.”
More than 500 student artists entered the competition. Staff members of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives, which publishes Cooperative Living, judged the entries. Eight of the 19 winners, including Mihika Dusad, live in Northern Virginia.
2016 Youth Art contest winners
Best in Show
Mihika Dusad, Ashburn, Va.
First Grade
3rd — Julie Knauth, Woodbridge, Va.
Second Grade
1st — Elizabeth Martinez, Annandale, Va.
2nd — Josemaria Meister, Annandale, Va.
Third Grade
1st — Skylar DeLorme, Woodbridge, Va.
2nd — Alexander Gould, Burke, Va.
Fourth Grade
1st — An Tran, Ashburn, Va.
Fifth Grade
1st — Rhea Ganesan, Chantilly, Va.
Dusad attends Creighton’s Corner Elementary School in Ashburn. She used colored pencils to depict the classical Indian dance called “Kuchipudi.”
“I’ve been dancing since I was four years old,” Dusad says, adding that the Kuchipudi dance is based on Indian mythology. Featured on the cover of the July issue of Cooperative Living wearing her Indian dance costume and make-up, Dusad explains that preparing for each performance takes up to three hours.
Mihika’s “Best in Show” work earned her a $100 prize. First-place contest winners in each grade category received a $25 cash prize.
“We started the Youth Art Contest to encourage youthful creativity and give kids a chance to show their art to the magazine’s 1.25 million readers,” says Bill Sherrod, Cooperative Living’s editor. “Everyone who judged the entries was impressed with both the imagination and talent shown in the students’ work.”
Art from the first-, second-, and third-place winners can be seen in full color in the July print issue of Cooperative Living magazine and online at www.co-opliving.com.
About Cooperative Living Magazine
The Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives publishes and distributes Cooperative Living to 1.25 million electric co-op readers throughout Virginia 10 times a year. For more information, visit www.co-opliving.com.
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