Newcomerstown art contest focused on Schmuey, a blue Quaker parrot

NEWCOMERSTOWN − The Arts Center of Newcomerstown (ARTSNCT) has announced winners for the recent Schmuey's 13th Birthday Art Contest. The competition honored the art center's blue Quaker parrot, Schmuey, who has been a presence for students attending free art classes.

Schmuey was adopted as a service bird by ARTSNCT and can often be seen perching on tables or the backs of chairs while students work on projects.

“The contest was extremely successful,” said Exeuctive Director Michael Wise. “Every class from K to 12 in the Newcomerstown school system participated, along with a small group of adult residents who also submitted their artworks,” Michael Wise, executive director of the arts center said about the contest.

With more than 500 entries, the judges faced the challenge of selecting winners. The first place winners were fourth-grader Addi Fox for those in kindergarten to fifth grade, high school student Deleney Baker for those in sixth to 12h grades and Regina Schilling in the adult category.

This summer, the arts center will offer a limited series of free art classes, Art in the Park, at Cy Young Park. The sessions for grades K to 12 will resume in October and November as part of the LEAD after-school program at West Elementary School and again in March and April 2025.

In addition to these initiatives, ARTSNCT has a history of conducting art and theatre programs, fostering an emerging arts scene in Newcomerstown and the surrounding tri-county area.

For more information on the arts center, call 740-575-5710 or email michael.wise@artsnct.org.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: A blue Quaker parrot named Schmuey was the focus of art contest