Cheerwine Festival T-Shirt Contest
Calling all high school art teachers in North and South Carolina! Your students have a chance to create the winning design for the 2026 Cheerwine Festival t-shirt.
Important Dates
February 27, 2026 at 5pm EST: Artwork submissions due
March 10-20, 2026: Top 10 submissions are posted online for Public Voting
Mid-April: Winner and two runner-ups announced
2025 Winning Design
Katelyn Roberts
West Rowan High School
Katelyn’s design won after over 7,000 votes were cast.
Prizes
1st Place Contest Winner
Winner’s design will be the ONLY 2026 Cheerwine Festival t-shirt design to be sold and worn by thousands! The winning student will receive, in addition to bragging rights and recognition by the Cheerwine Festival:
- A $1,000 prepaid Visa card.
- A Cheerwine Festival Gift Basket containing 4 Festival t-shirts and additional items from Cheerwine and the City of Salisbury.
- “Downtown Dollars” to be used during the festival on May 16, 2026.
- A plaque presented by the Mayor of Salisbury.
Contest Winner’s Teacher
The t-shirt contest winner’s teacher will receive:
- $500 to use toward new art supplies.
- A Cheerwine Festival Gift Basket containing 4 Festival t-shirts and additional items from Cheerwine and the City of Salisbury.
Two Runner-Ups
The two (2) runner-up winners will receive:
- A Cheerwine Festival Gift Basket containing 4 Festival t-shirts and additional items from Cheerwine and the City of Salisbury.
- “Downtown Dollars” to be used during the festival on May 16, 2026.
- A plaque presented by the Mayor of Salisbury.
How It Works
Judging
A designated panel of qualified judges will judge entries and select up to ten (10) potential winning entries. Criteria for selection of potential winners is: (i) the overall creativity and artistic skill of an entry; (ii), the artwork’s ability to creatively capture Cheerwine’s essence, embodying the spirit of being uniquely Southern and celebrating Carolina pride; and (iii) prominent inclusion of the Cheerwine Festival logo and Festival date (May 16, 2026) in the entry.
Voting
A gallery of up to ten (10) finalists’ entries will be made available on Cheerwine’s website on or about March 10, 2026. The public may vote on the best design representing Cheerwine. Limit one vote per person regardless of email address used to vote. Voting is limited to persons ages 13 and older at the time of voting. One winner and two runner-ups will be determined based on the total number of valid votes received. The teachers of the winner and runner-ups will be notified mid-April.
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