South Pasadena’s Creative 5th Graders Shine in the City’s Annual 4th of July Festival of Balloons Poster Contest

l.-r. Marisola Barba, Seraph Wu, Cleo Zhang-Discover America Together

The South Pasadena’s 4th of July Festival of Balloons celebration, including a hometown parade, fireworks, and other family activities, is a tradition in the city and so is the event’s 4th of July Poster contest, open each year to all 5th graders in the South Pasadena Unified School District and Holy Family Catholic School. This year’s contest, organized by the South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC), resulted in 108 thoughtful, heartfelt and creative poster designs submitted by individual students and teams displaying their artistic interpretations of the Festival theme, “Red, White, and Blue, Bold Stripes, Bright Stars, and Brave Hearts, Too.”

l.-r. Makayla Chang and Tami Yu-Soaring Together

The 5th grade contest winners, chosen by the South Pasadena City Council from finalists selected by the 4th of July Poster Committee—headed by Tracy Macrum, along with Sheila Pautsch and her crew at the South Pasadena Community Services Department—are: Tami Yu and Makayla Chang (1st place), for their poster, “Soaring Together”; Marisola Barba, Seraph Wu, and Cleo Zhang (2nd place) for their poster, “Discover America Together”; and Winona Bradshaw (3rd place), for her poster “A Night in South Pasadena.”

Winona Bradshaw-A Night in South Pasadena

The winners will be honored during the Festival’s opening ceremonies on July 4 at 10:30 a.m. in front of the South Pasadena Community Center, 1115 El Centro Street, and will ride in the Festival of Balloons Parade. In addition, they and their families will receive tickets to the City’s fireworks event at South Pasadena High School. All 108 of the 5th graders’ posters are displayed on the parade route, on Mission Street, from Meridian Avenue to Fair Oaks Avenue.