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‘Little Artists’ win big at inaugural competition
Little Artist
Police Capt. Miguel Pacheco, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Gina Blom, Impact Prints Founder Rob Kho, Mayor Amy Bublak and artist Alyssa Moon judge hundreds of submissions on Friday for the Little Artist competition (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

The first ever Little Artist competition which asked local children to draw their favorite place in Turlock wrapped up on Friday evening, with livestreamed judging by a host of public figures. Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Gina Blom, Police Captain Miguel Pacheco and local artist Alyssa Moon all looked over hundreds of submissions before determining the winners for each age group, in the competition hosted by Turlock digital printing company Impact Prints.

The first-place winners were 3-year-old Minnie Rangel, 4-year-old Brookly Macedo, 5-year-old Patrick Corneille, 6-year-old Claire Bergendahl, 7-year-old Ellie Oliveira, 8-year-old Hunter Log, 9-year-old Cooper Chandler, 10-year-old Ayva Harris, 11-year-old Penelope, 12-year-old Lesli and 13-year-old Leilani. Each of the first-place winners won an iPad with an Apple pencil to encourage creativity and the arts.

Meanwhile, the second-place winners won 145-piece art sets. Those winners were 3-year-old Isaiah Peterson, 4-year-old Jack Olson, 5-year-old Skylynne Rangel, 6-year-old Ayezah Farhan, 7-year-old Julian Amaya, 8-year-old Thomas H., 9-year-old Liam Pruitt, 10-year-old Amelia Oliveira, 11-year-old Nazreen, 12-year-old Millynah and 13-year-old Sahib Singh.

The third-place winners also took home a prize, which were Impact Prints-branded hoodies. The third-place artists were 3-year-old Raelynn, 4-year-old Ajay Sneed, 5-year-old Camilia Packrit, 6-year-old Cataleya Villanueva, 7-year-old Paige Purell, 8-year-old Henry Fuentes, 9-year-old Ibrahim Khan, 10-year-old Harleigh Williams, 11-year-old Leona Dereon, 12-year-old Anabelle and 13-year-old Ahlem Owens.

But just because some participants didn’t place doesn’t mean they will be going home empty handed. Rob Kho, founder of Impact Prints, announced that all who participated will receive a free gift courtesy of Jay’s Electronics in Ceres.

The giving spirit of the holiday season didn’t stop there. After winners were decided on, a raffle was held giving away 10 more prizes to five other participants and five parents. Participants Cameron Chandler, Oliver Conner, Ava Randhawa, Elyse Salvador and Pamela De Leon all won a yearlong soccer membership to the Turlock Sports Park. Additionally, the parents of Alexia Garcia, Ileana Salvador, Cataleya Villanueva, Mia Packrit and Julissa Contreras all won a one-month membership to CrossFit Turlock.

“This is really a wonderful thing that I am really proud to support,” said Bublak.

Blom agreed, praising the collaboration between local businesses and community members.

Kho hopes that this event is just the beginning of more competitions and community events.