NEW GLOUCESTER – Fiddlehead Center for the Arts, located on the Pineland campus, is partnering with Maine PBS for the 11th annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest.

The contest is for kids in kindergarten through grade three. Children must write and illustrate a story and send it to Maine PBS by Thursday, March 31. Everyone who submits a story will receive a certificate of achievement signed by “Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton.

Maine PBS will judge the stories and award prizes to the first-, second- and third-place winners in each grade. First-place entries will be sent to the national competition. Fiddlehead is offering the competition as part of their program lineup beginning Feb. 18.

Students can register for the five-week class by calling 688-2244 or online at www.fiddleheadcenter.org. The classes will be taught by creative writing teacher Lindsay Tice and art teacher Wendy Patterson.

Maine PBS will host a celebration party for the 12 local winners and their families at the second annual International Art and Cultural Festival presented by Fiddlehead Center on Saturday, May 14, when the local Reading Rainbow Contest winners will present their stories as part of the events.