California Coastal Art & Poetry Contest Entry Form: Fill & Download for Free

The one award i regularly hear about is the Scholastic Art & Writing awards. I’m not too sure about how big it is as I’ve never applied, but I hear about people applying for it quite often.However, there are also local art competitions that I personally think you should apply for as well. For my region, we have the California Coastal Commission as well as a Holocaust themed art competition.A quick search about local or national art competitions should suffice to give you an idea of the art competitions around the country.

A large bird of prey could - just not any living today.Three that are known to have been large enough were Haast’s Eagle Wingspan National Bird of Prey Centre, Aiolornis incredibilis Aiolornis incredibilis (Teratornis incredibilis) with a span estimated at some 17′ and Argentavis magnificens Argentavis Magnificens -- Largest Flying Bird Ever, Giant Teratorn Facts, Extinction, Wingspan, Etc , with a 22 to 25′ wingspan.All these had wingspans approaching or in excess of ten feet the Haast’s being the most powerful for its size and one which actually did threaten small children till it was eradicated by the first aboriginal settlers of New Zealand in comparatively recent times, around the end of the fourteenth century. Haast's eagle - Wikipedia.The other two lived in the Miocene and Pleistocene respectively, only T. incredibilis possibly encountering humans in N. America.Stock Photo - Educational exhibits inside the Visitor Center at Anza Borrego Desert State Park San Diego County California“It’s worth noting that the modern scientific description of the animal is somewhat similar to the description of a creature/character mentioned in many American Indian stories — the Thunderbird.” (Planetsave)Additional Images of Mungo MartinButterfly Plaque - U'mista Cultural CentreFormline | Northwest Coastal ArtThunderbird Symbol- Jewelry | Masks | Printshttp://themaskery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Craigs-Carvings081-744x482.jpgThunderbird carvings - Google Search: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :…Haast’s Eagle attacking a Moa.Humans were the only other fully-erect >6′ bipedal animal on the islands at the time so were easily mistaken for their normal prey.…Fortunately for us none of these birds survived into the present time. The closest to these today would be the Philippine eagle - Wikipedia, the Harpy eagle - Wikipedia and the Steller's sea eagle - Wikipedia, all extremely large and powerful raptors. Estimates are the largest can possibly lift and carry objects having a weight of up to around 5 lbs.Harpy Eagle in flightLarger than these but less powerful would be the two Condor species the California condor - Wikipedia and Andean condor - Wikipedia, both comparable in size and together representing the two largest living flying bird species.California condor - Wikipedia

Northern California:I lived in Northern California for 20+ years, and have lived in Southern California for almost two years now. Northern California for me was a paradise because of the weather. I grew up in a very hot area of California, and the temperate climate in Northern California suited me.Northern California ranges from beach, to coast, to inland valley, to mountains. It’s temperatures can range from freezing to 100+ degrees F. Parts of NorCal remain relatively temperate with seasonal lows in the 40’s, and seasonal highs in the 80’s. This is mostly coastal areas from Monterey North to the Oregon Border.Northern California offers a world class city in San Francisco, with world class cuisine, art, architecture, tourism, attractions, and industry. The Silicon Valley, Monterey Bay, Mount Shasta, Trinity Mountains, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento River, Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta, other major rivers, Redwood forests, the Lost Coast, and many other amazing natural wonders provide for myriad destinations to explore and appreciate.The Napa, Sonoma, and Russian River wine appellations are within a few hours drive. The mighty SF bay and San Pablo Bays as well as the Pacific Ocean provide for world class sailing, boating, and yachting. It also provides for one of the country’s and world’s largest ports.Skiing in the Sierra Nevada’s is within a four hour drive of nearly every part of Northern California. Some resorts are closer. Tahoe, Squaw Valley, North Star, etc…Jobs in Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco, and the Greater Bay Area are nearly unrivaled for their pay and perks. Silicon Valley is known world wide as the tech innovation capital of the world. Northern California has 22 of the Fortune 500 companies.Coastal waters, beaches, cliffs, and hills cover the length of the Northern California Western Border. This area is unrivaled in its rugged coastal beauty, and relative freedom from urban sprawl. Northern California finds more pleasure in the outdoors, from the coast, to the mountains, to the water. Mountain biking, climbing, hiking, skiing, boarding, hunting, walking, backpacking, camping, and exploring seem to be higher on the list of todos that that of SoCal. Hiking, backpacking, biking, and running are done nearly everywhere, 365 days a year because of the weather and terrain. Outdoor activities are on the top of the list for most people in NorCal. That doesn’t seem to be the case with most people in SoCal.Northern California has some of the most storied and sophisticated universities in the country and the world. Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, San Jose State University, University of California, San Francisco, University of California, Davis, and many other fine institutions.There seems to be a conscience about Urban Sprawl in Northern California. There are many protected areas, especially the mountains, and hills, and is probably one of the reasons, housing and rents are so high in Northern California because they aren’t developing every square inch of dirt as they have in Southern California.Southern California:Southern California is a vast area ranging from the Beaches of Los Angeles to the Colorado River, and from the Mexican Border to parts of Central California perhaps Bakersfield, but some say as far as Fresno.. It is an enormous area in terms of square miles as well as in population carrying nearly 3/4 of the 35 million people that live in all of California.Los Angeles, the largest major city in Southern California has 3.5M 13.5M people living within its borders. This metropolis is pretty much unrivaled in all of the American West for it’s sheer size, and diversity.Natural Wonders of Southern California might include, Mount Whitney, Death Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, Transverse Range, Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert, and the Sonora Desert.The Southern California area might have one of the most famous collection of beaches on the planet, starting with Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrence, Long Beach, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Oceanside, Carlsbad, La Jolla, and the San Diego area. SoCal people seem more relaxed, and there is more of a beach culture here, because of the size of SoCal’s beaches, where has NorCal’s beaches are limited to small areas of beaches in Monterey, Santa Cruz, HMB, Baker, and Stinson. There are more, but not that many where people consistently gather like in SoCal.Los Angeles’s size allows for the fine arts to flourish. The collection of museums, opera, and other musical venues is impressive.Los Angeles is also the center of a wide range of entertainment industries, from television, movies, music, amusement parks and the like. You won’t find a place like it on earth.The cuisine you might find in the finer parts of the Los Angeles Basin, Beaches, and towns is incredible. The quality of the food, as well as it’s preparation is second to perhaps NY in sheer quantity, and sophistication.The Southern California area has a plethora of institution’s for higher learning, including but not limited to University of Southern California, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Irvine, University of California, Riverside, Pepperdine University, Scripps, University of California, San Diego, University of California, Santa Barbara, CSU Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Pomona, Northridge, Long Beach, Fullerton, San Marcos, and San Diego.Los Angeles has 15 fortune 500 companies.The weather is temperate closer to the beach, but more desertlike as you move east. This weather pattern makes the Westside more desirable to live and work in. Because of the desertlike environment, the Los Angeles Basin gets about 35% of its water from Northern California. A very sore subject for northern California residents, and much of the mid-eastern portion of California.The people in Southern California are generally good people, with the same dreams and goals on Northern California. People want a decent, unencumbered life. The chance to succeed to the limit of their dreams, and for their children to have the same and more than they had. They enjoy good cuisine, and seem happy to stay around the city centers, and go to a movie, rather than drive two hours for mountain bike ride. Perhaps this is because of the traffic, and the difficulties getting out of the LA Basin to find a great pace to mountain bike or hike.Overall, both Southern California and Northern California have their good points. As a native Californian, and one who has lived in Northern, Central and Southern California, I have found that finding things to do in the area I live is part of the fun of it. That includes working, entertainment, exercise, hobbies, eating, and so forth. I am still exploring Southern California and haven’t finished my analysis:)