The folks at the Dallas Children’s Theater came up with a pretty neato-torpedo contest for kids this summer. I love this contest because not only were kids encouraged to explore limitless creativity, but more importantly, the resulting creativity was put into action. Here’s the scoop: The DCT invited students from kindergarten through 12th grade to design costumes for bees, butterflies and birds to appear in its upcoming production of Pinkalicious: The Musical. As it turns out, there are more than a few little Edith Head’s out there just waiting to be discovered (Edith Head was a famous costume designer for those of you too young to know what the heck I’m talking about). Impressive designs flooded the DCT’s offices and picking just one winner out of the 43 entries was VERY tough for Education Director Nancy Schaeffer and Costume Designer Lyle Huchton. The winner was announced at a ceremony Friday that included pink flamingos, pink cupcakes, pink lemonade and Pinkalicious herself. Lily Forbes, a 5th-grader at Hockaday, was the grand-prize winner. Her winning design was selected not only for its uniqueness and consistency in style, but also because her costumes would allow the actors to move about the stage easily. Lily loves acting and designing, and she entered the contest because she, “thought it would be cool to see her designs come alive on stage”. Way to go, Lily!

In addition to Lily, seven others also received special recognition for their designs. I personally was blown away by 15-year-old Sam Knoll’s submission. She included swatches and color palettes for each of her unique characters. And if that wasn’t enough, she also included elaborate and colorful head dresses, wings and leggings in her design. Huchton singled out her talent and encouraged her to pursue a career in costume design. No doubt about it. This girl is going places!

Pinkalicious: The Musical opens DCT’s 29^th season on Sep. 21 and runs through Oct. 21.

Therese Powell is an Art&Seek calendar coordinator and KERA-TV producer.  She spends most of her free time seeking out adventures for her 7-year-old daughter, Rose.  Clue us in to your ideas for quirky kid adventures by leaving a comment. Or e-mail Therese at [email protected].