Apr 14, 2013 2 min read

Market Street Academy & Performing Arts Center will hold contests in writing, theater, visual arts and music composition for Brownsville’s third Market Street Arts Festival, which will be held May 17-19 as part of the 40th anniversary of the National Road Festival and in celebration of Monongahela’s designation as the Pennsylvania River of the Year.

Entries for the contests must relate to “Brownsville: Where the National Road Crosses the Monongahela River.”

There will be five age categories: 6 through 10; 11 through 14; 15 through 18; 19 through 59; and 60 plus.

Writers’ submissions will be accepted in poetry, fiction, drama and creative nonfiction. Group submissions with no age limitations also will be accepted for original puppetry presentations.

Poems should be no longer than 20 lines, written in either free verse or traditional metric forms, rhymed or unrhymed. Fiction and creative nonfiction should be up to 500 words for the 6- to 10-year-old group; 1,000 words for 11- to 14-year-olds; 1,500 words for 15- to 18-year-olds; and 2,000 words for writers 19 and older.

In the drama category, plays submitted by contestants up to age 12 should run from five to 10 minutes; all others should run from 10 to 15 minutes. Puppetry shows should run from 5 to 10 minutes.

Entries for all musical groups should include a musical score that runs between one and five minutes in length. These should include no more than eight musicians. A recording is optional.

Visual arts submissions can be in any medium, but they must be original works, not a copy.

Contestants can submit their works until May 1 . There is a $5 fee per entry. Prizes will be awarded May 17 as part of the opening ceremonies for the arts festival.

For entry forms and more information, contact Dr. Fred Lapisardi at 724 880-3801, by mail at Market Street Arts, P.O. Box 382, Brownsville, PA 15417, or MarketStArts@gmail.com.