(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
Central Valley students are in the running for a custom shoe design contest put on by Vans. The Custom Culture contest is a yearly event put on by the shoe company, and this is the second year in a row that the Central Valley students have advanced to the Top 50 designs, beating out almost 3,000 other schools from across the country.
"Vans Custom Culture was created to inspire and empower high school students to embrace their creativity through art and design and to bring attention to diminishing arts education budgets. Vans believes everyone should be empowered to express themselves creatively and should be given the tools to do so," says the description on the contest's website.
Voting goes on until May 10th. The winners receive a $50,000 prize that goes toward their school's art budget, and they will have their shoes produced by Vans.
Central Valley art teacher Kyle Genther says the 10 students collaborated on the designs and wanted to show what it's like living in the northwest, being close to nature but still having some big city influence.
If you'd like to vote for Central Valley's designs, head to the Custom Culture website and click on Start Voting. You can vote once per day.