Townsend VFW

TOWNSEND — It’s time to get excited for the red, white and blue!

The Auxiliary to VFW Post No. 6538 is sponsoring the Get Excited for the Red, White, and Blue National Anthem Singing Contest for students in Grades K-12, in conjunction with the VFW Auxiliary Department of Massachusetts and the National VFW Auxiliary.

The Auxiliary to VFW Post No. 6538 will award $25 to one winner in the Grades K-8 category and one winner in the Grades 9-12 category. The Townsend Auxiliary’s two winning entries will be entered into the two VFW Auxiliary Department of Massachusetts competitions where $50  will be awarded to each first place winner and $25 will be given to each second place finisher. The two winning state entries will be advanced to the National Auxiliary competitions where a $500 gift card will be awarded for first place, a $300 gift card for second place, and a $200 gift card for third place in each of the two grade categories.

To enter, contestants must submit a live, unedited video of their solo rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” recorded between July 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. The contestant must state their name, age and grade prior to the performance. Submissions of acapella or with backing tracks or instrumentation will be accepted. Contestants can also sing in the arrangement and genre of their choosing. However, they are not able to change the words to the national anthem.

The video must be saved on YouTube and submitted with a completed and signed official contest entry form. A parent or guardian’s signature and contact information is required on the entry form. Each contestant may only submit one entry.

Entry forms and information about the contest may be obtained from teachers, from Betty Mae Tenney of the Auxiliary to VFW Post No. 6538, or on the vfwauxiliary.org website.

Each entry will be judged on vocal ability, mastery of lyrics, originality or interpretation and entertainment value.

All Get Excited for the Red, White, and Blue Contest entries must be submitted to VFW Auxiliary to Townsend Post No. 6538 President Betty Mae Tenney by Friday, March 31. Anyone wishing to submit a contest entry should arrange to do so by calling Tenney at 978-597-6495 or 978-665-4026.

The Townsend Auxiliary’s Get Excited for the Red, White, and Blue Contest is open to students in Grades K-12 who are enrolled in a public, private, or parochial school or home study program. Although U.S. citizenship is not required, students must be lawful U.S. permanent residents or have applied for permanent residence (the application of which has not been denied) and intend to become a U.S. citizen. Foreign exchange students and students aged 20 or older are ineligible. All eligible young people are encouraged to enter the contest.

TOWNSEND — The Auxiliary to Townsend VFW Post No. 6538 is sponsoring a new 3-Dimensional Patriotic Art Contest in conjunction with the VFW Auxiliary Department of Massachusetts and and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Auxiliary.

Works that will be considered can be paper, paper mache, pottery, sculpture, metalwork, fabric, wood, among other forms. Pieces should be no larger than 18 inches in any direction and cannot weigh more than 5-pounds.

Digital art, photography and jewelery will not be accepted.

For contestants using the American Flag in their art, the flag must conform to Federal Flag Code as far as color, number of stars and stripes, and other pertinent rules of the code.

The art entry must have been done during the current school year. Each student may submit only one entry into this competition.

At the local level, the Auxiliary to Townsend VFW Post No. 6538 will award $50 to the first place winner, $30 to the second place winner, and $20 to the third place winner.

Townsend’s winning entry will be entered into the VFW Auxiliary Department of Massachusetts competition where the winner will be awarded $200 and the second place winner will be awarded $100. The winner of the state competition will be entered into the national competition where $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place will be awarded to the winners.

In addition to a scholarship, the national winners will be featured on the National VFW Auxiliary website. All winning state entries which are submitted into the national competition will be displayed at the VFW National Convention and on the VFW Auxiliary website.

Contestants must include a typed explanation of their piece, using 250 words of less, and a completed official 3-Dimensional Patriotic Art Contest entry form bearing information about the artist, the title of the artwork, the source of the idea for the artwork, the media used, and the signatures of the student and his parent or guardian must be attached to the back of the entry.

Contest applications and information about the program may be obtained from high school art teachers or from Betty Mae Tenney of the VFW Auxiliary to Townsend Post No. 6538.

The Townsend Auxiliary’s 3-Dimensional Patriotic Art Contest is open to students in grades nine through 12 who are enrolled in a public, private, or parochial school or are home-schooled. Although U.S. Citizenship is not required, students must be lawful U.S. permanent residents or have applied for permanent residence (the application for which has not been denied) and intend to become a U.S. citizen at the earliest opportunity allowed by law. The students cannot be older than 19 years of age at the time of local entry. All eligible young people are encouraged to enter the program.

Each entry will be judged on the originality of concept, presentation, and patriotism expressed; the content of how it relates to patriotism and clarity of ideas; the design technique; and the total impact of work.

All local 3-Dimensional Patriotic Art Contest entries must be submitted to VFW Auxiliary to Townsend Post No. 6538 President Betty Mae Tenney by Friday, March 31. Anyone needing to make arrangements to submit a contest entry should contact Miss Tenney by calling her at 978-597-6495 or 978-665-4026.

TOWNSEND — VFW Post No. 6538 and its Auxiliary is looking forward to bringing joy to numerous families in Townsend on Christmas Eve 2022 through its Santa Claus Program. The Townsend VFW Post and Auxiliary began having a Santa visit children in Townsend between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve more than 40 years ago. The Santa delivers a small gift provided by the family to the children who had been signed up for the Christmas Eve Santa Claus Program.

Town residents have been informed about the program in previous years through a Postal Patron mailing in early November. Due to a very limited number of volunteer Santas initially available, the letters were not sent out this year. Once information about the of possibility of running the program in 2022 was spread through the newspaper, social media, and the Townsend Public Library, a number of Townsend families signed up for a Santa to visit their home this year on Christmas Eve .

Although the Townsend VFW Post and Auxiliary still do not have as many volunteer Santas as they have had in past years, they are going to be able to visit many Townsend homes on Christmas Eve. With the recruitment of additional Santas, they are now able to accept some additional  requests for a Christmas Eve Santa visit on a first to sign up — first to be included basis until they reach capacity.

Any interested Townsend family should immediately complete the Townsend VFW Santa Survey which can be found at https://forms.gle/PgkLehz3M5BKRWZX8.

Those whose Townsend home can be visited on Christmas Eve 2022 will be advised that there will be a Santa available to visit them and the size and necessary preparation of the gift(s) and when and to whom to turn in the gifts.