A Darien man’s stormy lighthouse is the first-place winner in the 14th annual “Festival of Lighthouses Contest” at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.
Robert Keene of Darien won $1,500 for his entry in the aquarium’s “Festival of Lighthouses” contest
Robert Keene takes home $1,500 for receiving the most votes from Aquarium visitors for his entry, “Surviving the Storm.”
__________
— an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium
__________
This is Keene’s second year in entering the contest. With help this year from friends Ashley Hoefer, Clayton Ludwig and John Freeman, Keene crafted his entry within a large black box.
In the scene, a red-and-white lighthouse stands on a rocky cliff. Below, a fishing boat is tossed in a churning sea. From within the (cotton) storm clouds above, thunder booms while flashes of light illuminate everything, including a jagged bolt of lightning painted on the backdrop.
The holiday lighthouse display ran from Nov. 21 to Jan. 18, and featured 22 large model lighthouses built by local artists, students and hobbyists. The contest’s winners are chosen by Aquarium visitors, who enjoy the lighthouses in the Aquarium galleries and then vote for their favorite.
More than 11,500 votes were tallied in this most recent display, which – as always – attracted a collection of widely creative works.
At a Jan. 21 ceremony at The Maritime Aquarium, prizes also were awarded to five runners-up from the paper-ballot voting:
• Second place ($750) – “Tiki Island Lighthouse” by Brett Almstead of Ridgefield.
• Third place ($375) – “Fairy Lighthouse” by Bob Hemond of Trumbull.
• Fourth place ($300) – “Fieldstone Tower” by Pedro Davila of White Plains, N.Y.
• Fifth place ($225) – “North Pole Lighthouse” by Jo Stecker of Norwalk.
• Sixth place ($150) – “Droste Point: The Lighthouse Within” by Nancy Todd of West Haven.
An additional $500 prize was awarded to Hemond, who won the “Facebook Favorite” vote conducted online Dec. 28-Jan. 18.