Back to All Events

What Freehold Means to Me Essay Contest


Is it the shops? Is it the restaurants? Music in the Gazebo? The St. Patrick’s Day Parade?

Freehold has had a long storied history celebrated in song, literature, and film. Freehold Borough boasts historical homes and markers. Our town has changed and grown over the years. There are new homes, new residents and new businesses. The Freehold Borough Arts Council strives to foster and boost the art scene. A visitor can enjoy music, plays and paintings.

It’s been a hundred years since the Borough’s incorporation. To celebrate this milestone, the Freehold Borough Arts Council is sponsoring an essay contest.

An essay, according to dictionary.com is a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject. Essays consist of three parts: the introductory section, the body which supports and develops the concept and the concluding paragraph. There are varying forms of essays. The descriptive essay shows images in words. The reflexive essay is written to stir emotion. The expository essay presents facts.

The entry fee for the contest is $10.00 per essay

GUIDELINES

All entrants must follow the rules of the contest

There are two age categories of entrant: ages 12 to 17; and over 18 years of age.

Entrants must reside in the United States.

Essays must be original work. Plagiarism or using works of another person without proper credit will cause disqualification.

All entries are final. No revisions will be accepted.

Use a legible font such as Courier or Times New Roman at 12 pt size. No fancy fonts or formatting. Underlines are accepted. Indent the first line of a new paragraph.

Provide your name, title in CAPS, contact information, phone number, email, address on the front page.

Double space and use a one-inch margin on all sides. At the middle of the first page, the essay title in capital letters, go down two lines and begin the next line.

Please print on one side of the paper. Do not bind or staple entries.

All works will remain property of the author.

This is a contest of skill. This is not a sweepstakes or game of chance.

Applicants may submit multiple entries, however each entry will have a separate entry fee.

Submissions can be emailed to FreeholdArtEssay@gmail.com. To pay the entry fee you will have to go to FreeholdBoroughArts.org and pay via the donate button. Submissions can also be mailed to Freehold Borough Arts Council 1 Broad St, Freehold NJ 07728 Attention: Jeff Friedman. If sending a paper submission to the address above, please include payment with submission. If not comfortable sending payment via the website, please send fee to 1 Broad Street address.

Essays will not be returned. An email acknowledgement will be sent to confirm receipt of essay.

Judging panelists may not submit an essay.

Essays should not be submitted elsewhere until after the winners are announced.

Essays should be a minimum of 500 words and not more than 1500 words.

Deadline for submission is end of business day November 7, 2019.

Essays will be judged on original voice, style, point of view, creativity, descriptive language as well as spelling, grammar, mechanics and word count.

Good luck to all entrants. We look forward to read what you have to say.