With six months remaining before participants will lace up their running shoes for the 7th annual Butterflies and Bridges Run, it’s time for young local artists to get out their paints and brushes to start working on potential logos for the event.

Students between the grades of 3rd and 12th at any school in Dallas County — public or private — are allowed to submit one entry.

One overall winner will be selected, along with a winner for one of three divisions: grades 3-5, grades 6-8 and another for grades 9-12.

The overall winner’s piece will be featured on the front of the event T-shirt, they will also receive a $100 cash prize. All four winners — the three division winners and the one overall winner — will get their artwork matted or framed.

Bill Potter, race director for the event, which features an 8k competitive run and a 2-mile fun run, said he hopes the cash prize will encourage more students to enter their artwork.

“The response in the past has been OK, and so we are hoping that the cash prize will get a lot more students interested in participating in the art contest,” Evans said.

Proceeds from the annual run will support sports activities for Selma City Schools, and Patrick Evans, Athletic Director at Selma High School, said the art contest serves multiple purposes.

“This is the 7th year of the Butterflies and Bridges Run, and we are hoping to make it a big event annually,” Evans said. “Last year was our biggest year ever with more than 100 runners, and we are hoping to build on that this coming year.”

All original paintings submitted by students must be made on 8½- by 11 paper and must be submitted to Evans no later that Wednesday, Dec. 18 at his office at 2180 Broad St. in Selma.

Winners will be announced on Jan. 22, after a panel of local artists from the Selma Art Guild judges all the works.

Evans said the judges would be looking for originality and visual impact, as well as the embodiment of this event’s theme, butterflies and bridges.

Evans said students interested in participating in the art contest could go to www.SelmaCitySports.com and click on “About” to learn more about art contact rules and to find an entry form.

“The art contest is a chance for us to showcase the wonderful artistic talents of our students, but also, it’s a great way to start promoting the event,” Evans said.