Got to love Gasparilla for the terrific prize money. As a result they get many applications from people who do very few shows but who think they have a crack at winning part of $74,500 in awards.

Congratulations to the lucky ones:

Trent Manning of Winter Haven won the Raymond James Best of Show Award on Saturday during the opening day of the 42nd Raymond James Financial Gasparilla Festival of the Arts.

Manning, one of more than 230 artists at the festival, received the top honor along with $15,000 for his "King of the Mountain" sculpture.

The artwork was judged by Douglas Dreishpoon, chief curator at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY.

Thirty-seven artists were honored for their work, including:

  • Robert Kastrinos of Orlando received the Board of Director's Award ($7,500)
  • Tampa's Jeff Eckert took the Roddy Brownlee Reed Award of Excellence ($4,000)
  • M. Kemper of Oklahoma City earned the Mayor's Award ($3,500)
  • Paul Shatz** of Charleston, S.C., won the Anniversary Award ($2,500)
  • Oren Estell of St. Petersburg captured the Friends of the Museum Award ($2,000)
  • Shannon Blosser-Salisburg** of Bethany, Ill., received the Robert & Elizabeth Sanchez Emerging Artist Award ($1,000)

If anyone has the complete list I'd love to see it.

**AFI members - a special congrats!

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Comments

  • It annoyed me that they got my name wrong in this story, but thank you for the congrats! It was my first festival/fair, and now I'm hooked!
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