Spirit of “Carnivale” in winning poster for festival
Artistic flair: Cindy Heath (left), chair of the 2012 Frankfort Fall Festival, came up with the fest's theme of Carnivale, while 2012 Lincoln-Way East High School graduate Jessica Cirullo designed the winning poster that incorporated the theme. | Supplied photo
For a town of only 17,000 residents, Frankfort has more than its fair share of talent. Nowhere, it seems, is that talent more apparent than in the halls of the District 210 high schools. While public school districts across the nation slash arts funding to counter budget shortfalls, Lincoln-Way art students pushed their creative potential to the max in the pursuit of some good-natured competition.
The Frankfort Fall Festival’s annual poster contest calls upon the area’s most promising young artists to interpret the year’s festival theme as a poster, using any medium of their choice. The 2012 theme — Carnivale — drew 50 submissions from students who used everything from oil paints to digitally enhanced photography to render an image of Frankfort’s Labor Day festivities with a Brazilian twist.
A panel of expert judges, comprised of art and marketing professionals from the Frankfort area, was faced with the extraordinarily difficult task of selecting a winner from the diverse array of submissions. The winning poster was chosen based on measures such as creativity, originality, marketability, and artistic merit. The panel chose one created by Jessica Cirullo, who graduated in 2012 from Lincoln-Way East High School.
“I voted it top because it had the most creative concept for the theme,” said Jeannine Skarbek-Kubas, a chamber member and owner of Skarbek Kubas Group, a marketing and design business in Frankfort. “The quality of the drawing was fantastic. It was the most original idea and showed great craftsmanship.”
The blue-and-purple-toned poster features a woman wearing a masquerade mask often donned by revelers at street carnivals. The woman’s headwear highlights iconic images of Frankfort.
Phil Labriola, art department chair at Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way North high schools, was impressed with Cirullo’s ability to combine icons of Frankfort with the theme.
“The design is simple but it conveys fun and energy; that conveys what the festival is about,” Labriola said.
Cirullo received a $250 prize from the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce, and her design will appear in promotions as well as on merchandise for sale at the Festival, from Sept. 1 through 3.
The high school art students who participate in the contest each year are just one of many groups of Frankfort area residents who make the annual Labor Day celebration possible.
“The Fall Festival is a massive operation which brings hundreds of thousands of visitors into our community every year to shop, dine and enjoy the festivities,” festival chair Cindy Heath explained. “While it’s the Chamber of Commerce that sponsors the event, it wouldn’t be possible without the local school clubs, civic organizations, fire and police departments, and ‘yellow-shirted’ volunteers who donate their time, energy and talent to make the whole thing run.”
Provided by the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce