by Contributor | January 14, 2026 3:44 pm
OSWEGO — Harborfest’s annual public competition to find its 2026 official poster will celebrate both the 250th anniversary of America and the festival’s musical history. This year, Harborfest will honor through its poster “The Music That Shaped America,” a salute to both the nation’s rich musical heritage and the festival’s role in bringing top national and regional shows to Oswego for decades.
The competition is open to anyone. The artist whose poster is chosen for 2026 will receive $250 and have their artwork displayed throughout the area as Harborfest spreads the poster to its local business partners. The deadline for submission is midnight, April 1st. Send submissions to [email protected][1].
“America’s music is the soundtrack of a nation’s birth and growth. So much of Harborfest’s amazing music has come from American-made styles such as rock, jazz, hip hop and country that it seemed appropriate to make this year’s poster our way of joining the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. I can’t wait to see the designs our fans come up with,” said Dan Harrington, Harborfest Executive Director.
Some of the rules for submissions:
Designs must be submitted in digital format for judging – jpg, png, or pdf – and in portrait aspect.
Format is open to the artist: Can be a painting, drawing, photography, digital design or mixed media.
Artist retains ownership of the physical creation.
Design must be entirely original. No use of AI, stock photos, clip art is allowed.
Art must be appropriate for a family audience.
By submission, the artist allows Harborfest full and permanent rights to reproduce the finished poster for all sales and marketing purposes, which Harborfest can modify to include its logo and other necessary information if needed.
Complete rules are on the Harborfest website[2]. Harborfest 2026 will take place July 23 – 26.
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