Springfield Area Arts Council to host 'Poetry Out Loud Central Illinois Regional Contest'

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The Springfield Area Arts Council will host the "Poetry Out Loud Central Illinois Regional Contest" next month.

The contest will be on Thursday, February 12 at 4 p.m. in the Club Room at the Hoogland Center for the Arts (420 S. 6th St.) in Springfield.

It is free to attend.

"Poetry Out Loud" is a national arts education program that offers free educational materials and a recitation competition for high school students.

Students from all over the country participate. The Springfield Area Arts Council has produced regional and state contests for 20 years.

Students present at the classroom level before winners advance to a school-wide competition. Then they go on to one of seven regional competitions in Illinois. Then they compete at the state tournament, held in Springfield on March 2. The National finals are held in Washington, D.C. in late April.

Students from the following area schools are participating:

Eisenhower (Decatur)

Pawnee (Pawnee)

Routt (Jacksonville)

Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield)

Southeast (Springfield)

Springfield (Springfield)