MonDak 250 Written Word Contest Winners Announced!

Congratulations to the following winners of the MonDak 250 Written Word Contest at the MonDak Heritage Center:

In the adult category: 1st Place: Kristin Noraard with her poem “More Than A Town”, 2nd Place: Vickie Dore with her poem, “My Home, My Heritage in the MonDak Area”, 3rd Place: Mayra Lopez with her essay, “What The MonDak Means To Me”, and 4th Place: Natalie Browne Conlin, with her poem, “The Prairie Wind”.

In the youth category: 1st Place: Evie Karren (Fairview 12th Grade) with the poem, “The MonDak To Me”, 2nd Place: Kirsten Kraft (Kraft Homeschool 12th Grade) with the essay, “What Does the MonDak Area History Means To Me”, 3rd Place: Willow Conlin (East Fairview 5th Grade) with the poem, “The Bird of History”, and 4th Place: Keira Kraft (Kraft Homeschool 10th Grade) with the essay, “What Does the MonDak Area History Mean To Me?”

MonDak 250 Written Word Contest Winners – Click Here to View the Winning Entries

Thank you everyone who submitted entries; the competition was tough! Each of the winners mentioned above will receive a cash prize and will see their words written on a plaque next to the MonDak 250 Mural in the MDHC Sculpture Garden. The words and subjects from the winning entries will be used by an artist to design and create a 19’ by 8’ mural that represents local history in the outdoor space at the MonDak Heritage Center. The mural will depict the area’s history as told by our community and painted by an eastern Montana artist to represent the stories and images so eloquently described in these winning entries of MonDak 250 Written Word Contest.

The MonDak Heritage Center is now looking for an artist to complete the mural in the Sculpture Garden. The mural will be painted onto MDO primed plywood sheets and then framed and hung in the outdoor space. This means if the artist prefers the mural can be painted in studio instead of on site; although onsite facilities will also be available if requested. The MonDak Heritage Center will provide the plywood sheets and all paint needed for this project. The artist will be paid a commission upon completion of the mural. This mural is made possible through funds from the Montana250 Committee as part of nationwide celebration of America250.

The subject matter of the mural will be drawn from the words of the MonDak 250 Written Word Contest Winners. It is the vision of the MonDak Heritage Center that the artist will be able to create a beautiful, unique mural that visually displays the subject matter found in the words of the authors. Interested artists are encouraged contact the MonDak Heritage Center for more information at 406-433-3500 or mdhc@richland.org. The MonDak Heritage Center is excited for an eastern MT artist to complete the mural and hopes this statewide grant project will bring some notoriety to the incredible work that is being done in the arts and the stories told on this side of the state!

Celebrate Montana 250 in the MonDak by telling our history and have your words turned into a mural, and win cash prizes! This contest invites both youth & adults to share their perspective of the MonDak region’s history. Write a short story (nonfiction or fictional), an essay, a poem, a song, or a haiku and have your work turned into a mural in the MDHC Sculpture Garden!

Tell us what pieces of our history should be represented in the new mural. Winners will be chosen from both adults & youth categories. Top contenders in both categories will receive a cash prize and your words will be placed on a plaque next to the mural and an artist will add your ideas into the mural artwork.

This contest is sponsored by the Montana 250 grant program and the MonDak Heritage Center!