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Harlow cartoonist Benny Ortiz spent a Saturday afternoon in the Community Room teaching kids ages 8 to 13 how to plan a four-panel comic: setup, problem, big moment, punch line. Twenty-two kids came and nine of the comics in the show started here, including Captain Biscuit vs. the Vacuum. Saturday, June 27, 2026, 2–4 pm.

Ms. Dana and volunteers from the Harlow Arts Guild showed kids how to pinch, roll coils and join pieces with score-and-slip so ears and tails stay on. Everyone went home with a bag of air-dry clay, and most of the clay animals in the show were made with it. Saturday, July 11, 2026, 10 am–noon.

Three volunteer judges spent a day in the library's meeting room with all 142 entries: Rosa Delgado, art teacher at Harlow Elementary; Martin Pike, a retired sign painter; and Dana Whitcomb, the children's librarian. Every piece was judged within its age group, and every entry gets a place on the wall. Saturday, September 19, 2026.

The show opens in the Community Room with lemonade, cookies and a ribbon ceremony at 6:00. Every artist gets a certificate, the 2027 calendar goes on sale, and People's Choice voting begins. Free and open to everyone. Friday, November 6, 2026, 5:30–7:30 pm.

Artists who want to can stand next to their work and give a one-minute talk about it, and visitors get a scavenger-hunt sheet for the show (find the dog in Kai's city). Saturday, November 14, 2026, 11 am–noon.

Visitors vote for a favorite piece all through the show. The ballot box is opened at the holiday party, the People's Choice winner gets a golden paintbrush trophy, and there's hot cocoa for everyone. Saturday, December 12, 2026, 2 pm.

Thirteen pieces from this summer's contest, one for the cover and one for each month, printed on heavy matte paper with each artist's first name, age and a line from their artist statement. Library closures and story times are marked on the grid. Sold by the Friends of the Harlow Public Library: every dollar buys art supplies for the Children's Room and next summer's contest.

Prints of the nine award-winning pieces, from Best in Show to the honorable mentions, made by a print shop on Main Street on archival matte paper. Every winning artist's family gets one free. Shown here: Night Swim and City at Night, Window by Window, matted and framed (frames not included).

Eight folded cards, each with a different piece from the show, blank inside, with brown kraft envelopes: My Grandma's Garden, Leaf Bird, Dish Robot 3000, Lemonade Stand Disaster, Rainbow Fox, Fish Bowl Plate, Dewey Dreams of Fish and Space Lunch.

Glossy, waterproof vinyl stickers of five clay animals from the show: Sir Hops-a-Lot, the Octopus Who Lost a Sock, Bubbles the Blue Whale, Pancake the Chicken and the Turtle Parade. There's also a bonus sticker of Pancake riding a turtle, which Rosie and Mateo both approved.