The Clatskanie Chamber of Commerce has announced two winners for this year’s 2024 Heritage Days theme art contest, Bayleigh Lopez and Kylee Smith.
Chamber Board Director Nikole Young is a member of the Heritage Days Committee, and she explained why two winners were selected this year.
“Since the Heritage Days Committee took over the car show that historically was planned by the Clatskanie Cruisers, we haven’t had a logo to match that specific event,” Young said. “This year, we had two pieces of work that stood out. One happened to be a beautiful illustration of a collectable’s car! So, we decided to select our top choice for Heritage Days and our top choice for the Heritage Days Car Show.”
Lopez is the winner for the 2024 Heritage Days Theme Logo, and Smith supplied the winner of the 2024 Heritage Days Car Show Logo. The artists were honored with cash prizes and art kits during a Clatskanie Chamber mixer on April 4 at the Clatskanie Wauna Credit Union branch.
“The theme this year is ‘Great Times. Good People. Sweet Memories,’ inspired by Bayleigh Lopez’s artwork that includes our town’s welcome sign,” Young said. “Clatskanie is full of good people and great times, promising a lifetime of sweet memories!”
Young said that the committee was impressed with all of the submissions that they received this year. With two winners, no honorable mentions were recognized, but Young said it “feels good” to recognize two “talented artists and pay them for their work.”
Hearing from the Artists
The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief was able to reach the artists and their families via email to get a better feel for the inspiration of their artwork and what Heritage Days means to them.
Kylee Smith’s design is an old-school car with fireworks in the background, and she explained how she came up with the design.
“I love to draw older vehicles, so I thought that for the competition, I could do a classic car with a beautiful red glow and a firework show in the background,” Smith said.
Smith said that she loves the annual car show that’s part of the Heritage Days each year and that she “wanted to draw a car that signifies how beautiful and original cars were back then.”
Being selected for the honor was exciting for Smith, and though it came as a surprise, she was happy to get the recognition!
“I was so ecstatic that at first, I couldn’t even believe that I had won the art competition,” Smith said.
Lopez was similarly affected upon hearing the news. Lopez joined the competition because of her love of drawing and she thought it would be fun, and ended up with a winning submission.
“I was really surprised. I didn’t actually think I would win,” Lopez said. “I just love to draw and thought it would be something fun to do. But winning was a really cool surprise. It made me feel really good.”
Lopez’s design inspired the Heritage Days theme, and she drew the “Welcome to Clatskanie” sign because it is a symbol that all in the community can identify with.
“I knew it was supposed to be something that represented Clatskanie,” Lopez said. “The sign by the hotel is something everybody sees when they drive through town so I thought that would be the perfect thing to try drawing.”
Lopez said her favorite part of Heritage Days is the activities going on downtown during the event. She enjoys the parade and other activities, along with walking through the park with her family to see the booths and vendors who have set up for the event.
Lopez loves the Clatskanie community, and she said the tight-knit community makes it feel like home to her.
“I love our small town because everybody knows everybody, and everybody looks out for each other. It feels safe,” Lopez said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, so this will always be my home and I love it.”
History of the Heritage Days celebration
The Heritage Days celebration originated in 1959 in an effort to raise funds for the Clatskanie pool.
There had been multiple drownings, including drownings of children, in the Columbia River, so bringing a pool into town was a top priority for all citizens. The result was barbeque and baseball fundraiser.
Originally named the Clatskanie Scramble, the celebrations have evolved into a multi-day celebration over the years, and it now includes games, races, fireworks, logging demonstrations, and more.
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