By News-Register staff • 

Columbus fifth-grader’s art chosen for state ag calendar

Gabriela Leikam’s painting was inspired by a family visit to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.
Gabriela Leikam’s painting was inspired by a family visit to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.

A field of tulips drawn by a McMinnville fifth-grader is one of 13 winners in a statewide calendar art contest sponsored by Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC).

Gabriela Leikam of Columbus Elementary was selected from among 1,327 youths submitting to the contest showcasing Oregon’s agricultural and natural resource commodities. AITC is a nonprofit “dedicated to helping students grow in their knowledge of Oregon’s agriculture, environment and natural resources,” according to a press release.

Artwork was submitted by students in kindergarten through sixth grade in public, private, charter and homeschool education settings.

In describing her work, Gabriela said, “my family went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival recently and I had never seen flowers like that before. They were so beautiful. We recently moved to Oregon from Hawaii, where I was born, and the agriculture and landscape are so different here, especially in the spring. I wanted to paint the colors that were so bright, and I especially loved the fields that were a mix of different flowers.”

The 13 winners each received $50. The artwork is displayed on the oregonaitc.org website, and calendars are free to Oregon teachers and can be ordered for $4 on oregonaitc.org/shop.

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