The 53rd annual Maple Leaf Festival planning committee has selected the winning artwork for the festival. Area artists, students, and residents were asked to submit work to represent this year’s theme “Legacy of Maple Leaf”.
For the second year in a row, Maple Leaf committee members, in a blind vote, chose Chamber staffer Mary Jo Little’s design. The artwork was selected by secret ballot by the whole festival committee with no indication of who the submitting artists were and features all of the event elements from the official Maple Leaf brochure written out puzzle style in the shape of a maple leaf tree. The artwork will appear in coordinating marketing, including the official brochure for the annual city celebration including events spanning 7 glorious fall weeks in Carthage, and will also be printed on official festival gear.
Festival Co-Chair Alice Chorum said “We always go into the vote with no idea who submitted the art pieces. Imagine our surprise when we found out it was once again Mary Jo. Mary Jo’s piece best embodied the Legacy of Maple Leaf theme.” Chorum’s Co-Chair Jeanine Poe added “We were proud of the Chamber staff’s commitment and Maple Leaf spirit!” Upon being advised of the win, Little said “After ten years with the Chamber and ten years of working behind the scenes of Maple Leaf, I feel like I have gotten to be a part of so much of the festival’s legacy. I mean, I know these events and people like my own family. Putting all that into words, which then became the artwork, just made sense to me. I love word games and word puzzles, so this artwork was like a game to me. Look closely…you’ll find sentiments like ‘unforgettable’ and ‘community’, plus some of my favorite parts of Maple Leaf like ‘food’ and ‘shopping’.”
