The contest is now closed. You can see results HERE. Thanks to all who participated!
Have you ever been in a town where walking, biking, or public transit is a viable way to get around on a regular basis? Do you miss that freedom?
Have you ever gone a day, week, month, or year without driving a car, but were still able to get around?
Does it strike you as silly that the Triangle doesn’t yet have a commuter rail system?
The Village Project promotes and celebrates transportation options because we believe that a society where the use of the personal car is optional is a more equitable and a more sustainable society.
To celebrate Car Free Day, we want to hear about your experiences with cars and their ills or your thoughts on ways to go car-lite. But, we want it in a haiku! (A haiku is a poem with 3 lines, where the first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7, and the third line has 5 again.)
Entering is easy! Here’s what to do:
- Write as many haikus as you like!
- If you haven’t already, register on the blog (so we can find you if you win!)
- “Leave a Comment” to this post with your haiku(s) BY SEPTEMBER 22nd. Please submit only one haiku per comment.
We will have several categories for the competition and really, any haiku goes! But to get your poetic juices flowing, you could compose a haiku about traffic frustrations, the fun of biking, the freedom and peacefulness of walking, or your other favorite non-car way of getting around (scooting, rollerblading, whatever!). The categories for the Haiku Contest are:
- Best overall
- Most humorous
- Most persuasive
- Best rant
- Most inspirational
- Best use of the senses
There are many great prizes (e.g., a bike helmet, a restaurant gift certificate, and a bike from the Recyclery!). The grand prize will go to the author of the winning submission, which will be included in press releases about the event. The judges for this contest are influential members of the community: Jay Bryan, Carrboro Poet Laureate; Ruby Sinreich, Creator and moderator of Orange Politics; Kirk Ross, longtime newspaper reporter, columnist and editor; and Jean Earnhardt, Longtime community activist & conservationist.
This Haiku Contest is hosted by The Village Project to promote International Car Free Day. International Car Free Day is an “annual celebration of cities and public life, free from the noise, stress and pollution of cars” that is observed on September 22nd.
To learn more about the competition, check out the Haiku Contest Rules.
To submit your haiku, leave a comment to this post.
Prizes courtesy of The Recyclery, Chapel Hill Restaurant Group, The Village Project, and Weaver Street Market. THANKS!
move through the terrain
so your senses take in everything
this Time is your Time
Some mother beeper
In a VW Bug
Leans on the horn–beep you, too.
traversing the terrain
treading lightly as you go
feel the earth’s renewal
Thank you everyone for your Haiku submissions! Please stay tuned for the winners! We will no longer be accepting haikus for this years haiku contest.
- Jenny
Board member, The Village Project
Where are the winners? it says that they would be announced yesterday monday the 26 but I don’t see it. Have they been announced yet?
The judges have submitted their votes and we are tallying up the results. We will post the winners tomorrow evening (Wednesday). Thanks for your patience!