River Read Invites All Horry County Middle School, High School and College Students to Enter 2013 Poetry Slam Competition

River Read invites all middle school, high school and college students in Horry County to enter its 2013 Poetry Slam Competition. This is a great opportunity for county students to be creative, not only with words, but through performance.

A poetry slam is a performance poetry competition. Competitors write original poems and then prepare a 2- to 3-minute performance to convey the passion of their words and message to an audience. A panel of judges score contestants based on creativity, content and performance.

Horry County students in the following grades are eligible to compete: Middle School (6 – 8); High School (9 – 12); College (Freshman – Senior). Entrants can upload videos of themselves performing their original work to the River Read Website or Facebook page before 12 a.m. on April 1, 2013.

Entries in will be judged by a panel, who will select three finalists in each category.

Finalists will be invited to perform on River Read’s Center Stage, and the winners will be announced before the end of the festival. The grand prize in each category is a new e-reader, and the runners up will receive gift card prizes. A list of rules and sample videos are available for viewing at http://RiverRead.org/contests/poetry.

River Read is also hosting the finals of Family Outreach of Horry County’s Happy Healthy Baby and Kid Contest, a fundraising event that is open to all children from birth to age 7. Those who raise the most money in each category will be awarded special prizes at the Happy Healthy Baby and Kid Contest at River Read. An overall winner will also be announced, who will be awarded the grand prize of a two-night stay for four at the Breakers Resort.

River Read will take place on April 20, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Riverfront Park in Conway. The brainchild of Conway City Councilwoman Barbara Blain-Olds, River Read is a unique community festival that celebrates Horry County’s love of reading and the City of Conway as the “City that Reads.”

River Read is presented by the City of Conway and Literacy Alive, and has only been possible because of the efforts and collaboration of Horry County Libraries, Coastal Carolina University, Waccamaw Community Foundation, Horry County Literacy Council, WBTW News 13, Sonic America’s Drive In and many dedicated community organizations, volunteers, and business sponsors.  

For more information about River Read, visit http://riverread.org/ or contact Barbara Blain-Olds at info@riverread.org.

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