Each year, Vans holds a contest in which they select 250 schools to design two pairs of shoes on two topics with a grand prize of $50,000. This year, the topics were “Hometown pride” and “VanD(IY)oren Legacy” after Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren, who passed away last year on May 6.
For the “Hometown Pride” theme, the art department went with a Smokey Mountains shoe that used needle felting, and a Knoxville shoe featuring Fountain City and Knoxville landmarks that used clay. Kaley Crow, a student, designed most of the Smokey Mountain shoe.
The second theme was based on Paul Van Doren. Students made one shoe to represent the founding of Vans in 1960 and another shoe to represent the growth of the brand today. Art teacher Cheryl Burchett said, ¨Principal artists were Sadie Maxey and Elliot Vasconcelos. They each designed and created an entire shoe.¨ In all, over 20 students helped to design and create these shoes.
Central submitted the designs on April 15 and were informed 10 days later that they made it in the top 50 designs. The top 50 will be up to the public in online voting for the $50,000 grand prize and the four runner-ups will receive $15,000 each. The winners will be announced between May 9 and May 20.
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