Promoting Royal Oak’s downtown has an “artsy” feel and students from Royal Oak’s elementary through high schools are “painting the town.” The winners of the “I Love Royal Oak” youth art contest have been announced by the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority Manager Daniel Solomon.

The contest was open to all K-12 students enrolled in schools located in Royal Oak and was divided into three divisions: Elementary (Grades K-5), Middle School (Grades 6-8), and High School (Grades 9-12).

In the elementary division, first place went to Kate Jackson, a fifth grader at Keller Elementary School, who created a piece entitled, “Where I Belong.”

“I drew ‘Where I Belong’ because I thought of what I love about Royal Oak. I thought about how much I love these things about the city where I always lived,” she said.

Lena Gilbert, a fifth grader at Oakland Elementary School, was chosen second place for her artwork, “My Love for Royal Oak.”

“These are only a few of my favorite places in Royal Oak. I mostly used colored pencil and graphite pencil. I love Royal Oak and I am glad to live here,” she said.

Third place in the elementary division went to Eleanor Farhat, a second grader at Northwood Elementary School, for her piece “Seeds Everywhere.”

“I enjoy fresh bagels in the morning, and love their cream cheese,” she said.

The middle school winners included first place Jordyn McCall, eighth grader at Royal Oak Middle School’s work, “Friends Forever.”

“In this art piece I focused mainly on my best friend and I,” McCall said. “I love Royal Oak because it allowed me to meet my best friend for life. I drew this so she could see how much of a positive change and influence she’s been on my life and I’m forever grateful. Love you, America.”

Second place winner, Asia Toney, seventh grader at Royal Oak Middle School, created, “A Walk Downtown.”

“I drew this to show how much I love Royal Oak, but not just Royal Oak, Downtown Royal Oak,” Toney said. “I drew a picture of me and my friends walking downtown because that’s what I love to do after school. Some of my favorite places to walk to with my friends are Comet Burger, Pagos, and Starbucks. I also like walking to the park sometimes.”

Devan Bec, seventh grader at Royal Oak Middle School, was the middle school division third-place winner for “All Lit Up.”

“This drawing is showing all of the buildings I love most in downtown Royal Oak,” Bec said. “It also shows how it is nighttime, and the stars say Royal Oak and how in the middle of the crescent moon is the RO symbol. It is also yellow in all the windows to show how they glow at night. I worked very hard on this and I hope you like it!”

Alma Baron, a junior at ROHS, won first place for “Detroit Zoo.”

“The Detroit Zoo is an iconic part of Royal Oak, so I wanted to paint something that represents its lasting impact on the community,” Baron said. “The Horace H. Rackham Memorial Fountain stood out to me because it’s one of the zoo’s most recognizable landmarks. Through this painting, I wanted to capture the charm and sense of nostalgia it holds for the people of Royal Oak.”

Second place winner, Robyn Toenniges, a 10th grader at Royal Oak High School, titled her piece, “Autumnal Feeling.”

“This piece is based off a photo I took, it’s not of the music hall or Main Street, but it is of the building outside of my home,” Toenniges said. “So, when I think of Royal Oak I think of my home and moments of comfort. So, my neighborhood and autumn remind me of Royal Oak, in turn, home.”

Shaelynn Simms, 10th grader at Royal Oak High School, won third place for “Normandy Oaks Heron”

“My favorite thing is walking around Normandy Oaks Park with my family. I love the blue heron, and it is the best animal I know in Royal Oak,” Simms said. “For this piece I used markers and chalk pastel with black ink.”

Each participating students received a certificate, a limited-edition Royal Oak sticker, and the window cling display used to show their art to the community during the display days in March.

Solomon noted the success of the program as it continues to draw interest and grow.

“The Royal Oak DDA was so proud to bring this contest back for a second year in row because it is not only a beautiful display for downtown, but also an opportunity for these budding artists to be recognized for their talents,” Solomon said, “There were so many amazing works submitted this year that it really made for dynamic window displays during the month of March.”

He noted the DDA is thankful to downtown businesses that “gave these works a home and helped share them with the nearly 500,000 people who visited Downtown Royal Oak during the month.”

All the artworks will now be displayed on the contest website from April 14 — June 30. The contest website is romi.gov/1827/I-Love-Royal-Oak-Drawing-Contest