The Denton County Office of Emergency Management and the Denco Area 9-1-1 District are inviting young Picasso-wannabes to show off their talents with a cause. According to a social media post by the City of Denton Fire Department, they're hosting the 2025 Youth Emergency Preparedness Art Contest and are on the lookout for submissions from K-12 students in Denton County. The contenders have the task to whip up original artwork, showing how to prep for or stay safe during various emergencies – you know, the not-fun stuff like tornadoes, floods, arctic chills, and power outages.
Throwing in a bit of an incentive to get those creative juices flowing, winners of this contest will have their artwork featured proudly in the 2026 Emergency Preparedness Calendar. And there's a little more. Aspiring artists have until July 1 to get their submissions in – via email or old-fashioned snail mail. Every brilliant piece must hit on an 8.5" x 11" canvas with nothing but hand-drawn or painted efforts. Sorry, digital dynamos, no pixels allowed here. Interested students should also not forget to slap their name, age, school, and contact details somewhere on their masterpieces.
Looking beyond the contest, selected works of art get the chance to be displayed at the Denton County Preparedness Fair, penciled in for September 13. So, potentially, not only could your art be a page in a calendar, but it could also be hanging up in public buildings across the county, providing a visual nudge to the community about staying sharp in the face of Mother Nature's mood swings.
