(Crescent City, CA) Del Norte Association of Cultural Awareness (DNACA) announces the winner of the Del Norte County Poetry Out Loud® competition.The new County Champion is Madalynn Van Vacter of Sunset High School, with Bria Larson of Del Norte High School taking First Runner Up honors. Other students who participated in the county competition include Kyle Evans of Sunset High School, and Tey-met-tret Hostler of Del Norte High School.Rhylin Taylor rounded out the five student contestants as the first home-schooled student participant in the six-year history of the program in Del Norte County. This is the sixth consecutive year that a student from Sunset High School has taken top county distinction.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Poetry Out Loud, presented in partnership with the California Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is a national arts education program that encourages the study of poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students. Locally, DNACA delivers support for the program by providing community teaching artists to coach the students at the classroom and school-wide levels, as well as coordinating the county competition.This year’s Poetry Out Loud county competition was held as part of “Del Norte County’s Poetry Appreciation Week”, which was proclaimed by the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors as being a “celebration of poetry (which) encourages unity, understanding, and an appreciation for diverse perspectives.”In addition to the county competition, the week also included eight outreach activities by guest Sacramento Poet Laureate Andru Defeye, with Coon the Poet and Diamond Key from the Sacramento Poetry Center also on hand. These activities including working with students at Del Norte High School and Sunset High School, hosting a Poetry Open Mic at Port O’Pints, and performing during the county competition.Van Vacter will now advance to the California state Poetry Out Loud contest in Sacramento March 17 - 18th. The California state champion will move forward to the national finals where $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends will be distributed.To learn more about the California state Poetry Out Loud contest, contact California Arts Council Literary Arts Specialist Charlie O’Malley at charles.omalley@arts.ca.gov or visit PoetryOutLoud.org.DNACA is Del Norte County’s arts council, with a mission to provide support and excitement for all the creative arts in our County, in order to inspire community vitality and harmony. For more information please visit dnaca.net. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });