The Santa Maria Public Library hosted its first Cowboy Poetry Contest in the Shepard Hall on May 21, which included a student poetry competition and a live reading by Dick Gibford. The event was scheduled to help get the community in the mood for the annual Elks Rodeo, and was sponsored by the Santa Maria Public Library Foundation, the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo, and the Altrusa International Foundation of Santa Maria.
There were winners in first through second place in four different age groups. The first place winners received two tickets to the rodeo, a plaque, and a book. The second and third place winners received plaques and books. The winning poets and their poems are available to view at cityofsantamaria.org/city-government/departments/library.
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2016.