The Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta invites Maine artists to submit a design for this year’s official festival T-shirt.

The deadline to submit a design entry is Thursday, May 19. A decision regarding the winning design will be reached shortly thereafter. A $500 prize will be awarded to the artist whose design is selected, according to a news release from the organization.

The selected design will be featured on the T-shirt celebrating the 16th annual event, scheduled for Oct. 6-10. Each year the Pumpkinfest attracts thousands of visitors and nearly 1,000 T-shirts and hoodies are sold. To be eligible, the artist must be a Maine resident (year-round or summer), including students attending Maine universities and colleges.

The winning design will become the property of the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, and all rights of use must be released to that organization.

The selected T-shirt design and the artist’s biography will be posted on damariscottapumpkinfest.com, facebook.com/damariscottapumpkinfest and instagram.com/damariscottapumpkinfest. It will be officially released to the Maine and regional media.

To be considered, the artwork must adhere to the following:
• Be original, professional quality artwork (no photographs);
• Include the words “2022 Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & RegattaTM”;
• Represent the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta’s family-friendly and festive nature;
• The finished design should be 12-inch by 13-inch in size;
• While color is encouraged, the design should avoid elements that do not reproduce clearly, such as watercolor or shading;
• Halloween is not the nature and spirit of the fall Pumpkinfest festival; designs should not depict jack-o’-lanterns or other Halloween images;
• No political submissions.

To see previous winning designs in a Facebook album, visit facebook.com/damariscottapumpkinfest/.

Designs must be submitted as:
1. Hard copy, postal-mailed to: Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, P.O. Box 1101, Damariscotta, ME 04543-1101, and/or;
2. Electronically in JPG format, emailed as an attachment to: [email protected] or saved onto a thumb drive and postal-mailed.

The winning design’s creator will be contacted by a Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta representative.