America250 Bookmark Making Contest

Read, Connect, Celebrate: The House on Mango Project

Read, Connect, Celebrate: The House on Mango Project bridges the arts with reading to cultivate community connections. This yearlong project (Sept 2025–June 2026) features monthly events ranging from theatre and art exhibitions to small writing workshops.

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One component of this project is a city-wide bookmark making contest. Bookmark designs should answer the question: “What does it mean to you to be an American?”

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That might sound like a big or confusing question — but you can think about it in a simple way:

• What do you love about your everyday life?

• What makes you happy where you live?

• What do you enjoy doing with your family or friends?

• What struggles do you possibly face and have to overcome?​

Your bookmark can include drawings, words, colors — anything that shows what you think and feel. 

Your ideas matter. Your story matters. And we can’t wait to see what you create!

Everyone’s experience is different, and there are no right or wrong answers. Our community is full of stories and experiences that we want to share to both celebrate what makes us unique and uncover ways that we are all interconnected.

The House on Mango Street is celebrated for elevating unique perspectives, and this contest aims to do the same. Here is your chance to creatively express your own experience of living in America as we approach the USA’s 250th Anniversary.

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Winners from three age groups (0–12, 13–19, and 20+) will be selected, professionally printed, and distributed at all libraries to give away in recognition of all the people that make up our vibrant city and for America’s 250th anniversary. 

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All submissions will be displayed in a large scale collage at The Foundry (located at 215 N. 14th St.) from Mid-April-June. 

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The top three finalists from each age group will be specially showcased at the The House on Mango Street Project’s First Friday Art celebration at The Foundry on May 1, 2026, where attendees will vote on one winner from each age group.

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This project is brought to you by Linked2Literacy in collaboration with National Endowment for the Arts, The Lied Center of Performing Arts, Lincoln City Libraries, Sheldon Museum of the Arts, and cultural centers of Lincoln. 

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Full Contest Rules: 

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