The Star Tribune’s “Oh, You Turkey!” coloring contest celebrates its 30th anniversary this week. The Thanksgiving tradition involves cutting out a black-and-white drawing of a turkey from the newspaper, coloring it and mailing it to the paper, where anonymous judges rank the entries by age group and award small prizes to the top finishers.

I invite you, dear reader, to participate in an online version of this contest, using this marvelous Nell Brinkley illustration, which appeared in the Minneapolis Star on Thanksgiving Day, 1929. You have two options:

1. Click on the image below to view a larger version suitable for printing. Work it up old-school-style, with crayon, paint, glitter or what have you and mail it to:

Ben Welter
Star Tribune newsroom
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488

2. Or click here to view a version suitable for Photoshop, ArtRage, Artweaver or other image-editing software. Modify the file electronically and e-mail it to me at bwelter@startribune.com.

The first five entries submitted in each category – old-school and digital – will receive a genuine Beanie Baby from my extensive and virtually worthless collection. In addition, the best entry in each category – as judged solely by me or my minions – will receive a special Beanie Baby, such as a Zodiac Dragon or Gobbles the Turkey. And the top three entries in each of the categories will be posted at startribune.com/yesterday.

The rules: No purchase necessary, void where prohibited, judges’ decisions are final, etc. Employees of the Star Tribune and Ty Inc. and members of the extended Welter family are not eligible for this contest. There is no age restriction. If you’re 35 years old and eager for the chance at a $2 stuffed toy, God bless you.

The deadline: Your entry must bear a postmark or timestamp no later than midnight Thursday, Dec. 4. Good luck!

Illustrator Nell Brinkley’s syndicated work graced the pages of American newspapers and magazines from 1907 until her death in 1944.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 7:31 pm and is filed under Main, People. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.