Since May is National Preservation Month, the Salisbury Historic Preservation Commission will sponsor a coloring contest to help children become more familiar with the different types and styles of historic buildings prevalent in Salisbury.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation designated May as a time for cities and organizations across the country to recognize and celebrate local preservation successes.
The coloring contest is open to all children between the ages of 2 and 14.
The contest entry form will be published in the Salisbury Post during May. Entry forms also will be available online at the city’s Web site at www.salisburync.gov, and information will be shown on Time Warner Cable’s Access 16 in May.
Forms also will be available at the Historic Preservation Commission booth in front of City Hall at 217 S. Main St. during the downtown Spring Night Out on Friday.
Commission members and staff will be distributing free ice cream during the Spring Night Out festivities, compliments of Innes Street Drug.
Historic styles in Salisbury range from Federal, Colonial Revival and Victorian to early 20th century bungalows and arts and crafts dwellings. The coloring contest entry forms will feature several of these styles.
Children are being invited to select one of five designs and color with crayons, markers, colored pencils or paint. An information block on the entry form must be filled in and submitted with the finished picture.
Entries will be accepted until May 23. Forms should be mailed to the Historic Preservation Commission at P.O. Box 479, Salisbury, NC 28145-0479.
Artwork will be evaluated based on the following age categories: 2-5, 6-9 and 10-14. Winners will receive Downtown Dollars, which are redeemable at many stores and merchants in the downtown.
Awards in each age category will include first place, $20; second place, $15; third place, $10; and honorable mention, $5. Artwork will be on display at the main branch of the Rowan Public Library beginning May 30.
Established by the Salisbury City Council in 1975, the Historic Preservation Commission was created to help ensure that the city’s architectural heritage is preserved for the enrichment of its citizens and for future generations and to increase awareness about the importance of preservation to economic development and neighborhood revitalization.
The city has 10 districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places, five of which also have been locally-designated by the City Council.
For more information regarding the Historic Preservation Commission or the commission’s Preservation Month activities, contact Janet Gapen at 704-638-5230.