North American Butterfly Photo Contest Opens September 1

(Mission, TX) The North American Butterfly Photo Contest invites you to submit your best photos of free-flying butterflies, for a chance to win the $500 ‘Rio Grande Prix’! Part of the 19^th Annual Texas Butterfly Festival, this contest is open to everyone in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and accepts digital photos of live butterflies taken from October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014. It’s easy to enter and the winning photograph will be prominently displayed at the National Butterfly Center^TM and online, for the whole world to see.

Grab your camera—or phone—and go chase butterflies!” states Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center, host of the Texas Butterfly Festival, “You don’t have to be a professional photographer to get that one great shot and win cash in this contest. Even last year’s winner got lucky, when we unexpectedly captured two butterflies in one frame for the fascinating image that won over the judges.”

One of the best ways to promote conservation of wildlife is through a camera lens—and it’s no different with butterflies. The North American Butterfly Photo Contest is one way in which people young and old may appreciate butterflies, while preserving and protecting species populations. It’s also a way for people who cannot travel to the Rio Grande Valley to the Texas Butterfly Festival to support our mission and participate in a meaningful way.

Butterflies may be found in backyards and parks, green spaces and wild places,” explains Wright. “You don’t have to go far to enjoy them; you just have to go outside and look for them. We hope the contest will spark an interest in people who may not have paid attention to butterflies in the past, and encourage them to learn more about these precious pollinators.”

To view last year’s winning submissions and the contest rules, please visit www.texasbutterflyfestival.com. The contest is open to all ages and participants may submit up to five photos, online, starting September 1, 2014. The fee for entry is $15 per person, and the portal will remain open for entries for thirty days, with the winning photos unveiled Monday, November 3, at the Texas Butterfly Festival Keynote Presentation and Awards Banquet, featuring Sharman Apt Russell, author of An Obsession with Butterflies: Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect. Photo contest prizes include $500 for the Grand Prize, and $250 for 1^st Runner Up, plus display of the photos for public recognition, at the National Butterfly Center. Honorable Mentions will also be selected, with the winning photo displayed at the National Butterfly Center.

The 19^th Annual Texas Butterfly Festival Mission, Texas, is the country’s premier butterflying event, featuring expert instructors and guided field trips to private gardens, public lands and hard-to-find hot spots. Online registration for the festival is open, and some activities are already sold out. Please see the full schedule at www.texasbutterflyfestival.com.

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The National Butterfly Center is committed to ‘Growing Connections’ between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the parties and processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.

To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can join us, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas.