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Oak Grove Boy Wins Dude Ranch Family Vacation With Creative Art Idea
Six More Vacations To Be Awarded in 2010 Children’s International Arts Festival

Oak Grove, Minn., April 1, 2010 – When Jesus told his disciples to look at people as ripe fields ready to be harvested for his kingdom, his disciples probably weren’t thinking of riding horses on a dude ranch. Eleven-year-old Addison Nichols was thinking a lot about dude ranches when he drew a picture depicting people’s faces in blooming flowers in response to the question, “How are people like fields ready for harvesting?”

With reporters ready and poised in the Nichols’ house to capture the surprise moment, Lynn Nichols called her son to come downstairs for a phone call from ranch manager Cory Inouye: “Because of the artwork you drew, you and your family won a ranch vacation here at Red Horse Mountain Ranch for the coming summer.”

The ranch is located in the mountains near Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho (www.redhorsemountain.com). In addition to a keeping a herd of about 90 horses for riding, the ranch features a challenge course, mountain biking, fishing and a seven-course French meal for parents while the kids enjoy a cookout around the campfire.

After being awarded the dude ranch vacation, Nichols said he was in shock. “I need this to sit in my head for a little bit,” Nichols said.

Addison Nichols is the first of seven winners announced for the 2010 Children’s International Arts Festival. The online festival poses questions from the Gospel of John for children to answer and illustrate. The best answers and artwork appear in a free, online storybook Bible at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Nichols’ winning art can be viewed at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/addison.

“Addison has been drawing since he was 2 or 3 years old,” said Lynn Nichols. “I have boxes and boxes of his artwork.”

Children’s International Arts Festival founder Carey Kinsolving chose Nichols’ artwork because of the thought and creativity it displayed. “I can tell Addison really worked hard at his winning art because he sent two versions of it,” said Kinsolving.

“The wonderful part of this program is that children have won dude ranch vacations for their families,” said Kinsolving. “With some of the vacations valued at more than $10,000, I know that there has been a lot of discussion over dinner tables about answers to Bible questions that we asked.”

The Children’s International Arts Festival is sponsored by KidsTalkAboutGod.org and participating dude ranches. KidsTalkAboutGod.org is a non-denominational, Christian ministry that empowers children by publishing their faith expressions and making them available without charge to website visitors. Visitors may download art and Bible lessons for free. Creators Syndicate distributes Kids Talk About God as a newspaper column, which has been in syndication for more than nine years.

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