Festival at Sandpoint Announces 2025 Poster Contest Winners
The Festival at Sandpoint is excited to announce the two winners of its 2025 Poster Contest: Perky Smith-Hagadone and Gracie Duncan.
Smith-Hagadone’s art piece “Wild Cantata” was selected as the Festival’s winning Fine Arts Poster for the 2025 Summer Series.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s in educational administration from the University of Idaho and served as a public school teacher and principal in Lake Pend Oreille School District for 28 years.
Along her career path, she also earned a master’s in zoology from Miami University, which enabled Smith-Hagadone to deepen her interest and practice of environmental education.
She has lived in Sandpoint for almost 47 years and has many fond memories of attending the Festival at Sandpoint’s Summer Series.
If she is not hiking, kayaking, or playing with my family and friends, Smith-Hagadone is making art, often inspired by nature.
“My lifelong association with the natural world, resplendent with pattern, texture, detail, and color, dictates my intricate and stylized art approach,” Smith-Hagadone said.
Aside from traditional mediums including watercolor, colored pencils, and digital photography, she is compelled to create art out of almost anything. No medium is out of bounds: wood, clay, rocks, acorns, and even plastic bottle caps.
“My lifetime service in education creates an almost innate desire for me to continue to share information about our world through my creativity,” Smith-Hagadone said.
The winning art piece will be revealed on July 8, following the Festival’s annual Sponsor Appreciation event.
The artist’s donation of this original piece is not only a tradition but a fundraiser for the non-profit organization’s mission. The original art is auctioned, with bidding beginning on July 8 and concluding at the Grand Finale performance on August 3.
Gracie Duncan’s art piece was selected as the Series Lineup Poster, and, as a college student pursuing a degree in Graphic and Web Design from North Idaho College, she was selected to receive our 2025 Poster Contest Scholarship.
Duncan has lived in North Idaho her entire life and has a deep appreciation for nature.
“I've always had an admiration for Sandpoint and its beauty. It’s a place that embraces art and the outdoors, two things that are dear to me,” Duncan said.