The Buenaventura Art Association has announced that dry pasta, aka “macaroni” is the jumping off point and required primary ingredient for all works eligible to participate in its Fifth Annual Holiday Ornament Design Competition, this year playfully named “Call it Macaroni”. Non-cash prizes of assorted gift baskets and certificates will be awarded in youth and adult categories. To qualify for the youth category entrants must be 14 years or younger.

The main rule for the competition is that ornaments must include dry pasta as the primary material. Creative interpretation and craftiness take off from there with paint, glitter or other additional materials at the artist’s discretion. Ornaments must be “hangable” and include some kind of string or hook with which to hang it. All ornaments entered in competition will be offered for sale and the artist must agree to donate their entry for this purpose. All proceeds will go to the Ventura Education Partnership’s Arts Collaborative. The Collaborative raises funds for projects and events both during and after school which keep Ventura’s youth engaged in the visual and performing arts.

Entries must be brought in to the Buenaventura Art Association’s Harbor Village Gallery, 1591 Spinnaker Dr., Entrance #3, Ventura Harbor Village, between Monday, November 26 and Sunday, December 9 during open gallery hours, every day except Tuesdays, from 12 to 5 pm. The Ventura Education Partnership will also be putting collection boxes in some of Ventura’s elementary and middle schools for ornament submissions as well, but the competition is open to youth and adults throughout all Ventura County cities. A festive awards reception will be held Saturday, December 15 from 5 – 6:30pm at the gallery, right before the start of the Parade of Lights. Debbie Golden, Ventura Board of Education member and Cecile Faulconer, Vice President of the Ventura County Potters Guild will judge the entries and select awards for the youth and adult categories respectively.

For more information, call the Harbor Village Gallery at 805-644-2750 or visit www.harborvillagegallery.com or www.buenaventuragallery.org

About the Buenaventura Art Association
Buenaventura Art Association (BAA) is a non-profit, foundational arts organization in Ventura – a 58-year-old institution devoted to sustaining Ventura County’s cultural and artistic resources by developing visual artists in all stages of their careers. BAA was started in 1954 by a group of Ventura community, civic and business leaders who recognized the importance of the arts in all communities and wanted to encourage and foster Ventura’s cultural growth. BAA runs two galleries – the Buenaventura Gallery in downtown Ventura at 700 E. Santa Clara St., and the Harbor Village Gallery, 1591 Spinnaker Dr., in the Ventura Harbor Village. BAA also collaborates with Community Memorial Hospital to exhibit art in its ground floor public corridors.

More about the Annual Ornament Competition
A new primary design element is chosen each year for the annual competition. In previous years ornaments have started with egg cartons, 3” Styrofoam balls, small paper boxes, or plastic water bottles. BAA donates all proceeds from the sales of the ornaments to a fellow non-profit organization each year.