School holiday displays on Somerset diamond 'a feat of engineering and art'
SOMERSET — The artwork on the Somerset County seat's diamond intersection changes hues, sings, plays games, allows for sit-down photo opportunies, awaits gingerbread house and season cookie and present hunters.
The displays make passersby hungry, make them smile, make them pause as the cold December air wraps around them and most certainly make them proud.
Each year, Somerset Inc. and Laurel Arts partner in a scholarship program to challenge schools "to a feat of engineering and art," Somerset Inc. Executive Director Regina Coughenour said this week.
The scholarship program is a competition that incorporates both art and technical students from around the county and encourages them to use their skills to design and build a themed holiday decoration.
Those pieces are displayed on the diamond in uptown Somerset Borough, the county seat. Now, the artistic endeavors can be returned to their respective communities for display.
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"The idea originated out of a few conversations, both a dream for holiday decorations that were unique and a desire to invite Somerset County kids to be showcased at the forefront of the community during the holiday season," Coughenour said. "We started by sending out an application including a theme and finding a sponsor for each interested school."
Participating schools receive a $400 sponsorship for the project.
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"Each year, we are blown away by the skill, ingenuity, creativity and effort these students and their teachers put in –and we are blown away by the joy the community and passersby experience as a result of the gift of their efforts," Coughenour said.
The projects are judged by an independent panel – this year those judges were Matt Lamb and Kathy Trexel Reed.
The following schools participated: Somerset Area High School with a gingerbread house; Rockwood with a fruit cake that entertains with song; Turkeyfoot with a cookie face and present feet person; Berlin with comfy chairs and a candy wrapper fireplace; and North Star with a creamery tree ornament.
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Although all the schools, along with the scenic viewers, are winners, the highlighted project was from Rockwood.
The themed holiday decoration is easy to discern by viewers: "Sweet Treats."
The school incorporated a twist on the theme with its "fruitcake interactive game that incorporated music, the kids voices, a presentation, a motorized pulley system and lights," Coughenour said.
Rockwood was awarded an additional $500 that goes to the art and technical programs at the school. The award sponsor this year was Rockwood Insurance Co. The sponsors for the other participating schools this year were: Somerset, Morocco Welding; Berlin, Center Rock; Turkeyfoot, Global Inc.; and North Star, Highland Tank.
The school advisers were Kayla Bowser, Somerset; Joseph Kush, Rockwood; Christian Bench, Berlin; Ben Phillian, Turkeyfoot; and Jake Hoffman, North Star.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset County students holiday displays: Engineering and art
