By Ellie Ritter, contributor 

As part of the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival, the Grant Park Conservancy (GPC) is putting on its second annual Commemorative Poster Contest.

With submissions due before midnight on June 30, participants can design and create a “brand-inspired commemorative poster that embodies the Grant Park community and spirit of the two-day annual music and arts festival,” according to a GPC press release.

A tradition in Atlanta’s oldest park, the Summer Shade Festival brings music, food and art to Grant Park. This year’s festival will feature two music stages with long lineups of artists, an art market lined with tents of local and regional artists, a 5K run, expansive options for food and beer and a Kid’s Zone.

The 15th annual festival will occur on August 26, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Aug. 27, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The festival is free to attend. For directions to the park, click here.

The festival benefits the GPC, a non-profit, membership-based organization “committed to the restoration, renovation, beautification and maintenance of historic Grant Park.”

Each poster designer is encouraged to consider the park’s history and the festival’s elements – art, music, community, food and the 5k run – but the only element from the festival brand that must be integrated into the poster design is the festival’s logo. The GPC also says artists should “take risks and [not] be literal.”

Last year’s poster, made by Jean Pyo, took that to heart, incorporating watercolor paints into the illustration. The winner of this year’s poster contest will receive a grand prize of $150, a professionally printed version of the poster and two weekend VIP passes to the festival.  The posters can be submitted via email to poster@summershadefestival.org.

For more information and guidelines about the 2017 Grant Park Summer Shade Festival Commemorative Poster Contest, visit www.summershadefestival.org/poster-contest.