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 2025 Cheerwine Festival t-shirt.
Important Dates
February 28, 2025 at 5pm EST: Artwork submissions due
March 11-21, 2025: Top 10 submissions are posted online for Public Voting
Mid-April: Winner and two runners-up announced
Submit your students’ designs and our judges will select the top 10 for public voting online.
T-Shirt Contest Details
Challenge your students to create original art (using crayons, markers, colored pencils or design software) that shows their love for Cheerwine, celebrates being uniquely Southern, and showcases their Carolina pride! Along with their design, please have students submit a short sentence about the inspiration behind their artwork.
- All submissions must include the Cheerwine Festival logo within or around the final design and the Festival date (May 17, 2025).
- Overall size must not exceed 12” wide x 14” tall. Vertical orientation is recommended.
- Design must not exceed 5 colors for final printing.
- DIGITAL DESIGNS: All digital designs MUST be submitted via the online form in vector format. Files can be saved as .pdf, .jpg, .eps or .ai. You may be required to submit the native design files.
- PHYSICAL DESIGNS: Please mail original versions of printed artwork to: Joy Harper, Cheerwine, 1413 Jake Alexander Blvd. S, Salisbury, NC 28146. Along with art submissions, complete and mail this form.
For additional information or questions, please contact: contest@cheerwine.com
2024 Winning Design
Nicholas Smith
West Rowan High School
Nicholas’ design won after 10,000 votes were cast.
Prizes
1st Place Contest Winner
Winner’s design will be the ONLY 2025 Cheerwine Festival t-shirt design to be sold and worn by thousands! The winning student will receive, in addition to countless press recognition:
- A $1,000 Visa gift 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 17, 2025.
- 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 runner-up students (those with the second and third highest number of votes) 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 17, 2025.
- A plaque presented by the Mayor of Salisbury.
How It Works
Judging
A designated panel of local judges will select the top 10 entries of all artwork submitted. Criteria for selection will include, but is not limited to: the artist’s grade level (this contest is open to students who attend a North Carolina or South Carolina high school); the overall creativity and artistic skill; the artwork’s ability to creatively capture Cheerwine’s essence, embody the spirit of being uniquely Southern and celebrate Carolina pride; and prominent inclusion of The Cheerwine Festival logo. The decision of the judges will be final.
Voting
A gallery of the top 10 selections will be made available on Cheerwine’s website beginning March 11, 2025 for public viewing and voting. Each registered email address may only vote once. 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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