Kids Get Creative for Sea Isle Beach Tags

By MADDY VITALE There are a lot of budding artists out there and it would seem that many of them submitted their creations for Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio’s Beach Tag Art Contest. But unfortunately, out of 137 submissions in the second year of the popular event, only four could be chosen as winners. As part of the contest, children and teenagers up to age 17 were invited to create a unique design for Sea Isle's 2024 beach tags in the following four categories: Seasonal, Winter Holiday, St. Patrick’s Day and Veterans Beach Tags. “We had over 100 entries. I think it is a great contest. I love that kids get into it,” said Sea Isle’s Chief Financial Officer Jennifer McIver. McIver actually came up with the idea for the contest to highlight the talents of young people. The four winning artists are:

• Layla Baer, from Havertown, Pa. (Seasonal Beach Tag)
• Aubrey Lynch, from Huntington Valley, Pa. (St. Patrick’s Day Beach Tag)
• Kayla Hesketh, from Havertown, Pa. (Veterans Beach Tag)
• Sulless Wagner, from Lancaster, Pa. (Winter Holiday Beach Tag)

The kids had until Sept. 1 to submit their work to the city and panels of judges who did not know the names or ages of the artists at the time of selection chose the winners. The winners were announced during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. And the contest rivaled the inaugural beach tag art contest of 2022, in which artwork was chosen for the summer season of 2023. Of the 137 entries this year, there were entries as follows:

• 12 Winter Holiday entries
• 9 Veterans
• 13 St. Patrick’s Day
• 103 Seasonal

McIver, whose 8-year-old son, Asher, came in second for a submission, said that it is a fun event that the kids love. She enjoys it, too, she noted. “I love when they come in and hand me their artwork,” McIver said. “It’s great to see how excited the kids get. We had a lot of kids with their parents come in and they waited until I opened their submissions up. Of course, all of the artwork was wonderful.” And of the winning submissions, McIver said each had a special feel. The Seasonal Beach Tag had clean lines. “The seasonal one, the lines and everything were so perfect. The leprechaun for St. Patrick’s Day made you smile when you looked at it. The veterans one gave the judge a tough time because he loved them all,” she said. She added that the Holiday Beach Tag was so appropriate for Sea Isle. “We love turtles in Sea Isle, and it was one where you just smiled when you looked at it,” McIver said. “The colors were so bright, too.”