Attend the 2006 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest

If you plan to be in Memphis this weekend (Oct. 6-7), come to Memphis College of Art (1930 Poplar at Overton Park) and watch next year's federal duck stamp be selected from the 298 entries now on display at the college. The contest begins Friday night at 6 p.m. and continues Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Dr. Bruce Batt is the waterfowl biology expert who will help the judges with any "duck" questions. The contest is free and open to the public.

Come earlier on Friday and hear 5-time winner, Maynard Reece, and last year's winner, Sherrie Russell Meline, with our own Mike Checkett talk about what makes a great duck stamp. It's at 3 p.m. at the college and is free and open to the public.

Sherrie Russell Meline and this year's federal junior duck stamp winner, Rebekah Nastav, will be signing stamps and prints during the contest, too. You can also see Ding Darling's original duck stamp and some other select duck stamp items owned by Jeanette Cantrell Rudy and on loan from the Smithsonian just for the 2 days of the contest.

On Friday at 1 p.m., for $7, you can hear Alan Haid, author of Decoys of the Mississippi Flyway, speak at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and also see the Paul Tudor Jones antique decoy collection on display at the Brooks. (The musuem is free on Wednesdays, if you visit during the week). The PTJ collection is on display through Oct. 29.

All 298 entries are on display at Memphis College of Art this week from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 a.m. Free admission and you can enter the "Pick the Winner" contest. If you pick the same winner as the judges, you can be eligible to win a framed print and stamp of the 2007 federal duck stamp which will be selected on Saturday at the contest.