September Contest: Revealed!

I tried to do this as early as possible and boy am I tired for doing so but a lot of you have been super stoked about learning the theme. I hope it meets your standards!

The theme this month is Celebrating the Uncelebrated.

Every month, dozens of little known holidays go by completely unrecognized and uncelebrated. They've got to be feeling a little more than depressed at having been ignored so long. This month, however, will be different. You will be honouring these poor, unloved holidays with your plush creations. The holidays you can choose to celebrate are as follows:

International Literacy Day (September 8th): This years theme is Literacy and Peace for this all important holiday created to "disseminate... literacy awareness amongst world's illiterate community." Since 1965, this holiday has been celebrated worldwide yearly, each time with a new mission. Basically, if you're reading this, you really ought to care tons about this because that means you're literate!

Festival of Roses (September 9th): The Festival of Roses began in 1972 and hasn't lost steam despite it's totally unappreciated status. It is held in honour of some of the most beautiful flowers and is celebrated with visits to gorgeous rose gardens from dawn until dusk.

Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th): Here's a fairly serious one and an important one to boot. Of the 3000 people that try to commit suicide daily, 60% succeed. Some of us may have at some point been a part of the first part of that statistic - I'll admit that at one point in the past, I was. It was awful and I wish someone had been there to knock some sense into me. This holiday is all about saving lives and it needs to be celebrated.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day (September 19th): So maybe this one's not all that underappreciated, I'm making the rules here. I choose what gets in and what doesn't and this one's a fairly easy one too if you like being literal with these themes. This parodic holiday started in 1995 so it's but a wee baby compared to most other holidays.

Elephant Appreciation Day (September 22nd): This one's another baby holiday - It was founded in 1996 in celebration of one of nature's most incredible creations. Elephants are amazing. They're intelligent, creative, and super gigantic. They've been star attractions in circuses, on TV, and in zoos. What's not to love about elephants?

Hopefully these 5 holidays will be more than enough for you guys to get your creative juices flowing! Now for the rules.

1. You may submit as often as you'd like  as long as the holiday you choose is from the list and follows all of the rest of these rules.
2. The piece must be created uniquely for this competition - no old pieces, please.
3. You must include a passage explaining why you chose the holiday you did and how your piece relates to it. It doesn't have to be too terribly long it just has to show a bit of thought.
4. If you have offered a prize, you may still enter.
5. You must obey all other rules of the group.
6. You must submit to the contest folder for your submission to qualify.
7. The deadline is September 30th!

A full prize list will be available soon. If you'd still like to donate, please contact me! If you are shipping items, please also let me know where you are able to ship to! ]

Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy the competition. Remember to be creative and have fun!