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Newport’s Library Wants Your Kid’s Masterpiece. Deadline Is Nov. 30.

Published November 8, 2026

Published November 8, 2026

The exterior of Newport Beach Public Library at sunset with glass doors and greenery in front.
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NEWPORT BEACH | GO DO STUFF | NOVEMBER 8, 2026

Got a kid who’s covered the fridge in drawings of the Wedge, the ferry or a very lopsided pelican? Newport’s library would like to hang one on a real wall.

The details

The Newport Beach Student Art Exhibition takes entries through Monday, Nov. 30. It’s open to students in pre-K through 12th grade, one original piece per artist. The theme is Newport Beach’s 120th birthday. The city’s ask: show what makes Newport special to you.

  • What counts: paintings (acrylic, oil, watercolor), drawings (ink, pencil, charcoal, pastel, markers, crayons) and collages, on paper or stretched canvas.
  • Size: 9 by 12 inches, unframed.
  • Where: in person at the Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., in the Children’s Room on the first floor, with the entry form. Not the branches.

The payoff

The art hangs on the Central Library’s first floor Jan. 4 through Feb. 24, 2027. Prizes go in four grade groups: pre-K to 1st, 2nd to 4th, 5th to 8th and 9th to 12th, with $100, $50 and $25 gift cards for first through third. Winners get invited to an awards ceremony in early February, and every kid who enters gets a certificate.

Questions go to the city’s Cultural Arts Office at 949-717-3802.

Newport’s been around 120 years. Let’s see how a 7-year-old draws it. Odds are better than most of the public art.

Sources

Help us out, Newport.

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