READINGTON, NJ — The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning and PNC Bank are inviting New Jersey students in grades two through 12 to take part in the 15th annual PNC Bank “American Patriot Essay Contest” by writing a short essay on the topic “What the American Flag Means to Me.”
The grand prize winner will receive a tethered ride in a gigantic, 75-foot-tall hot air balloon at his or her school in June and a special VIP package at this year’s balloon festival in July at Solberg Airport in Readington; the VIP package contains a hot air balloon ride for two, four Blue Sky Club VIP tickets, and the opportunity to meet one of this year’s concert headliners, which in the past have included Disney teen sensations the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Sabrina Carpenter.
This year’s winning student’s immediate classmates will each receive one complimentary general admission ticket to the festival. Second and third place prizes consisting of festival admission and merchandise will be also awarded. The winning student’s teacher and school principal will each receive two Blue Sky Club VIP tickets.
All teachers in the state who submit a group of 15 essays or more on behalf of their students will receive two free general admission tickets to the festival regardless of whether one of their students submits the winning essay.
Last year, Kawameeh Middle School in Union produced both the first-place and second-place finishers. Guy Francis, a seventh-grade student, was the grand prize winner as he wrote about his ancestors’ freedom from the Nazis and slavery. Classmate Judd Espejo wrote about how living in the United States aided his mother’s full recovery from breast cancer.
The essays must be 100 words or fewer. They will be judged by a panel of representatives from PNC Bank and the balloon festival. Winning essays will be selected based on creativity, poignancy and clarity with consideration given to the grade level of the contestant. Contestants are not required to be U.S. citizens.
To enter, entries should be mailed to Essay Judges, QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, 363 Route 46 West, Suite 200, Fairfield, NJ, 07004, or emailed to pncessay@balloonfestival.com. Entries should include the student’s name, home or school address, home or school telephone number, grade, age, school name and the name of their teacher. The deadline to enter is May 1.
Additional information may be found at www.balloonfestival.com/pncessay.
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