Annual coloring contest winners: A patch of great pumpkins

It was a beautiful harvest this year. Nearly 300 area children colored, painted, glued and stitched their way to pumpkin perfection.

The judges looked through the bounty to find the cream of the crop. And that they did.

In the 4 and younger category, judges were charmed by Charlotte Hanni’s freckled jack-o’-lantern. Charlotte is 4 and lives in Cheney.

Hailyn Akiyama won rave reviews for her multimedia artwork with paper, gems and pompoms, while Leyden Cairns’ pumpkin won notice for its colorful patchwork. Both kids are 4 and live in Spokane.

In the 5- to 8-age group, color was key. Coeur d’Alene’s Cora Lepire, 6, fingerpainted her pumpkin in rainbow colors. Carissa Walsh’s use of shading in her maze design received glowing reviews. And Lauren Brazil told a story with her picture of a cat on a broom. Carissa and Lauren are 7 and live in Spokane.

The 9-12 category had a lot of variety. Leandra Dominguez, 9, painted her pumpkin with a sugar skull, and 11-year-old Laura Sheik created a quilted jack-o’-lantern. Both girls live in Spokane. The judges found the fingerprint details terrifying on Ashlyn Avant’s Pennywise-themed pumpkin. Ashlyn is 12 and lives in Sammamish.

The winners each received a Mobius gift certificate. As many entries as will fit are displayed at Mobius Children’s Museum in River Park Square.