The Malad Valley Welsh Festival is less than a month away, and as it does every year, it will shine a strong spotlight on the talents of local artists, poets, musicians, and storytellers.  One of the literally crowning events of the Festival is the announcement of the new Bard for the 2024 Festival.  In the lead up to that event, a youth poetry contest will also be held, along with a display of the winners of the youth art competition, and a performance of young musicians.

Music, poetry, and art are deeply connected to the history of Wales and the traditions of its descendants, and dozens of students entered their work into this year’s competitions.  

Youth Poetry

The Malad Valley Welsh Festival Youth Poetry Competition has two phases.  The first phase concluded with the naming of Semi-Finalists for every grade in Malad Elementary School and for Malad Middle and High Schools. At the end-of-school awards assemblies, the Semi-Finalists received certificates, coupons to the food/craft booths at the Festival, and invitations to participate in the Youth Poetry Reading and Competition at the Festival.

The poems were judged by former English teachers, who based their decisions on how well the poems followed the theme (“Dragons.”) as well as style and format. The judges were very complimentary about the works of the young poets. The students enjoyed writing poems about dragons, whether Welsh or Malad Dragons.

The Youth Poetry Reading and Competition will be on Friday, June 28, from1:00 – 2:30 in the chapel of the 2nd Ward Building (the church next to Malad City Park). The Semi-Finalists become Finalists by participating in the Poetry Reading where teams of judges will name the top three winners in each class, based on their presentation style. The winners will receive cash prizes with the top winner in each grade also being crowned by the Bard of the Festival. All participants will receive additional food/craft coupons just for coming and reading or reciting their poems.

Everyone is invited to come to the Youth Poetry Reading at the Welsh Festival to hear the next generation of Malad poets.

Youth Art

The Welsh Festival Youth Art Competition resulted in the awarding of certificates to all the winners, following awards assemblies where the winners were announced. Every classroom in Malad Elementary School participated in the competition with 1st. 2nd, 3rd places and several Honorable Mention certificates awarded. Winners also received coupons to the food/craft booths at the Festival. 

All winning youth art will be on display at the 18th Malad Valley Welsh Festival on June 28-29, 2024. The works of art will be displayed in the Relief Society Room of the 2nd Ward Building (the church next to Malad City Park). Students may pick up their art at the conclusion of the Festival at 5:00 on Saturday, June 29.

The students used Welsh themes such as dragons, knights, castles, and daffodils for their works of art. All of the elementary school teachers are to be congratulated on the creativity shown by the students. The students were able to learn about the heritage of Malad Valley through the Youth Art Competition.