Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest

→ The winners of the 2024 Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest have been announced! View the winners here!

Let’s celebrate the environmental, cultural, historical, and economic stories of this unique watershed in South Puget Sound!

Check back at the beginning of the school year for the updated 2025 packet and to see the new theme!

The 2024 Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest Packet includes detailed rules, guidelines and background information. Please read it before starting on your poster! This year’s theme is “Salmon of the Watershed”. 

The deadline for the entries is Friday, June 7th, 2024. As you probably noticed, the festival occurs very close to the beginning of the school year next fall so students will need to complete their artwork before school is out.

  • Best in Show 2023

Submissions

To submit your poster, you can mail or hand-deliver it to:

Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest

100 Brown Farm Rd

Olympia, WA 98516

Hand deliveries are accepted 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge:

  • On Saturday-Sunday, drop off posters at the Norm Dicks Visitor Center.
  • On Monday-Friday, drop off posters at the Administrative office (located directly across from the Norm Dicks Visitor Center).

You can also submit your entry digitally using this Google form.
Note: This method requires a Google account. If you don’t have one and don’t wish to make one, email your entry directly to julia@nisquallyriver.org. Be sure to include the relevant identifying information from page 3 of the packet!

Poster Contest Details:

Each year, K-5 students are invited to submit their designs for the Watershed Festival Poster Contest. The poster contest is a great opportunity for local students to learn about the Nisqually Watershed, flex their creativity and take pride in seeing their original artwork on display for the public. Judges choose the top five posters from each grade and these students are given a certificate and prize during a public ceremony at the Festival.  

Helpful Tips

Check out the video below- it’s from an older contest, but still has plenty of good tips. For inspiration, scroll through the slideshow of previous Best in Show winners at the top of the page.

You can also take a look at the different species of salmon here in this collection of reference images!

Good luck!