Summer is in full swing, Riverboat Days is right around the corner and the Mighty Mo Photo Show is just weeks away.

Yankton Area Arts will be hosting the fifth annual Mighty Mo Photo Show this August and right now is the time for area photographers to prepare their work for the competition. Starting Monday, July 20, we will start accepting entries for the contest. This year’s theme is “The River: Wonder of Nature.” This photographic competition is designed to compliment Yankton’s annual Riverboat Days celebration and to recognize the talents of area photographers.

The Mighty Mo Photo Show is open to the public; anyone interested is encouraged to submit a photograph for the competition. For those interested in participating, here is an overview of the guidelines.

The competition is open to photographers living within a 60-mile radius of the city of Yankton. All photographic media, techniques and styles will be accepted as long as the pieces are framed and wired for hanging. Photographers are welcomed to enter multiple pieces, each artist may submit up to four photographs into the competition.

We will start accepting entries at Yankton Area Arts on Monday, July 20. The last day to bring your work to the gallery will be Friday, July 24. Submissions need to be brought to Yankton Area Arts located in the G.A.R. Hall Art Gallery at 508 Douglas. Hours are from 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, if you need to make special arrangements outside of these hours please give me a call. Entries will be judged the last week of July, judging will be based on relevance to the competition theme, artistic quality, presentation and the quality of the exhibition as a whole.

On Saturday, Aug. 8, the exhibit will open to the public. We look forward hosting a reception were Yankton Area Arts will be able to recognize the participants and winning entries. Awards and recognition will be presented to the photographers won Promise to Purchase Awards and Honorable Mention Awards. Yankton Area Arts is honored to be able to offer the opportunity for area photographer to exhibit their work at the gallery. I am looking forward to all the wonderful photography that this show attracts – get out there with your cameras and start shooting the river!

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If you are out Tuesday night looking for the perfect photographic opportunity for your entry, stop by the Riverside Park Amphitheater and help us kick off our first Summer Pops Concert for 2009.

Tuesday night will feature John and Susan McNeill from Springfield, South Dakota. Though John and Susan usually play country music, their repertoire includes other musical styles, too. Our Summer Pops Concert line up this season includes Jazz Portraits, Public Domain Tune Band, Go Figure and All-Star Jazz Band, be sure to mark your calendars! The Summer Pops Concert series is sponsored by Yankton Area Arts and the City of Yankton!

More information on the Mighty Mo Photo Show and Pops Concert Series can be obtained by contacting our office at 665.9754 or by visiting us online at www.YanktonAreaArts.org.

YAA Calendar of Events:

• through Aug. 6 — Exhibit Points of View featuring J. Marlene Mueller at the G.A.R. Hall Art Gallery

• July 14 — Summer Pops Concert featuring The McNeills at Riverside Park Amphitheater, 8 p.m.

• July 16 — Wood Carvers Club informational meeting at G.A.R. Hall Art Gallery. 7 p.m. Open to adults interested in starting a Wood Carvers Club in Yankton

• July 20-24 — Entries accepted for the Might Mo Photo Show. For information on submitting work, please go to YanktonAreaArts.org or call Yankton Area Arts at 665-9754

• July 21 — Summer Pops Concert featuring Jazz Portraits at Riverside Park Amphitheater, 8 p.m.

• Aug. 3-6 — Nature Drawing Workshop at G.A.R. Hall Art Gallery. Contact the Yankton Area Arts office for further information 665-9754

The G.A.R. Hall Gallery and Yankton Area Arts office are located at 508 Douglas Avenue, Yankton. The gallery is open to the public free of charge from 1-5 p.m. weekdays and from 1-3 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, contact Pam Meylor, YAA executive director, at (605) 665-9745, via e-mail at Pam@YanktonAreaArts.org.