[PETOSKEY, MI] - Every spring, Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey hosts the Youth Art Festival, a season celebrating young creatives in Northern Michigan. The festival includes a range of events that showcase local talent, including the Youth Art Show, Young Writers Exposition, Youth Arts College Scholarships, and more.

The season concludes at the Youth Art Awards Night, where awards are given to students across age groups and categories. On Wednesday, April 24, CTAC - Petoskey held its yearly event, giving out more than 150 awards to talented young people. Of those awards, more than 100 awards were awarded to visual artists, 23 students were celebrated for excellence in poetry and prose, and 25 dancers from the CTAC School of Ballet were recognized.

“Youth Art Awards Night is one of my favorite CTAC events. It's so inspiring to be among this standing-room-only crowd, full of people celebrating our community's young creatives and the arts. It was a great night,” said Liz Erlewine, CTAC’s former Visual Arts Director.

The awards, which included community crowd-funded cash prizes for artworks in the Youth Art Show, also encompassed recognitions and scholarships from institutions such as the Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, Kendall College of Art and Design, Good Hart Artist Residency, The Little Traverse Literary Guild, Bob Schulze Fund for Creative Writing at the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation, and the Harriet Lee Hicklen Memorial Scholarship for Dance, among others.

“We are honored to celebrate the achievements of our young artists, writers, and dancers during this year’s Youth Arts Awards Night.” said Angela Morris, CTAC President." Through the youth-focused season, we witnessed the power of these creatives. It’s remarkable to see the talent and dedication of our youth in Northern Michigan on full display. We are endlessly proud to support their artistic journeys.”

CTAC Youth Art Show Award Winners: Laina Sladics (First Place), Leah Marquardt (Second Place), Nora Johnson (Third Place), Norah Frasz (Outstanding Ceramics), Margaret Mercer (Outstanding Colored Pencil), Lydia Goldsborough (Outstanding High School Drawing), Eleigh Harison (Outstanding Middle School Drawing), Olivia Payne (Outstanding Painting), Kylee Rice (Outstanding Portrait), Cru Pegg (Outstanding Sculpture), Sara Pletcher (Outstanding Watercolor), Laina Sladics (First Place, People’s Choice Award), Nora Johnston (Second Place, People’s Choice Award), Cru Pegg (Third Place, People’s Choice Award), Honorable Mentions: Bryson Ferry, Ezra Erikson, Jack Fisher, Skylar Boyce, Connor Swegles, Mara Smith, Michael Henson, Caroline Crook, Adalynn A., Megan Kaatz, Eva Irish, MacKenzie Brown, Lylah Robertson, Andrew Malesko, Cooper Chadwick, Presley Smith, Rachel Dhaseleer, Max Baker, Olivia, Haylie Ingersoll, Olivia Petoskey, Fiona Scott, Delaney McBee, Kendall Drake, Kadance Miller, Jessica Nichols, Jaylynn Lewin, Nina Rush, Max Capozzol.

CTAC Young Writers Exposition Winners: Henry Burris (Best in Show in Prose, High School), Georgia Kreiter (First Place in Prose, High School), Elise Tebeau (Second Place in Prose, High School), Evelyn Sharapova (Third Place in Prose, High School), Evelyn Sharapova (Best in Show in Poetry, High School), Sophia Eaton (First Place in Poetry, High School), Josie Wilson (Second Place in Poetry, High School), Lucille Uy (Third Place in Poetry, High School), Cyril Sagan (First Place in Prose, Middle School), Clover Leverett (Second Place in Prose, Middle School), Sean Sullivan (Third Place in Prose, Middle School), Sadie Tebeau (First Place in Poetry, Middle School), Zoe Kaufman (Second Place in Poetry, Middle School), Grace Sullivan (Third Place in Poetry, Middle School), Payton Yeskey (Honorable Mention in Poetry, Middle School), Sawyer Oberman (First Place in Prose, Elementary), Reilly Walker (Second Place in Prose, Elementary), Anneliese Hoffman (Third Place in Prose, Elementary), Ophelia Braddock (Honorable Mention in Prose, Elementary), Alex Haase (First Place in Poetry, Elementary), Alex Larocco (Second Place in Poetry, Elementary), Maria Robinson (Third Place in Poetry, Elementary), Helene Norcross (Honorable Mention in Poetry, Elementary).

Kendall College of Art and Design Awards & Honorable Mentions: Aubrey Johnson, Lily Warmerdam, Delaney McBee, Norah Frasz, Olivia Payne, Sarah Wyglendowski, Katelyn Pfander, Ariahna Kantola, Bee Lennon, Sadie Lennon, Felicity Sape, Rachel Dhaseleer, Blaise Sytsma-Reed, Aidan Burgess Hamm, Leah Marquardt, Shaylin Chalmers, Emma Ingalls, Haylie Ingersoll, Julia Sandstrom, Rachael Rosenthal, Charlotte Gagnon, Harlianna Suarez, Olivia Petoskey, Isabella Jessick, Liliana Bourrie, Angelynn Eberly, Haley Argetsinger, Mia Landis, Tornapa Srijan, Nora Johnston, Arianna Maldonado, Gracelynn Fettig, Margaret Mercer, Adalynn A, Eliza Shoskey, Graham Cassada, JoLynn Bartz, River Hudson, Oliver Wynder, Cooper Herse, Charlie Patterson, Eva Irish, Eleigh Hanson, Peyton Dennis.

University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art and Design Honorable Mentions: Davayah Philp, Kali Raycraft, Sarah Pletcher, Nora Riley, Elise Tebeau, Cru Pegg, Victoria Van Horn, Marissa Irwin, Margaret Mercer, Andrew Malesko.

Good Hart Artist Residency Awards: Nora Johnston, Maisy Fairbairn (Runner-Up).
For more information about the Youth Arts Festival and for a full list of award recipients, visit crookedtree.org/youthartawards2024 or contact CTAC at (231) 347-4337.