Festival at Sandpoint announces 2026 Poster Contest winners

A North Idaho College student, a retired North Idaho educator and a Sandpoint 9-year-old are the winners of the 2026 Festival at Sandpoint Poster Contests.

Elspeth Gibson of Kellogg's “Sunset on the Byway” design won the Festival at Sandpoint’s 2026 Series Lineup Poster Contest. The poster featured the road in Sandpoint on scenic Lake Pend Oreille and was chosen out of 28 entries. It earned Gibson a $1,000 scholarship. 

“I loved the composition of a photo of the byway that I used for the design,” Gibson, a sophomore at NIC, said in a news release. "I liked how the road turned out of view rather than into the mountains. It came together nicely.”

This marks the fourth consecutive year a student in NIC's graphic and web design program won the contest.

Cyndie Hammond’s art piece “Shadow Serenade” was selected as the Festival’s winning Fine Arts Poster for the 2026 Summer Series. 

Hammond is a third-generation North Idaho resident. Her grandpa homesteaded on the south end of Lake Pend Oreille just east of the Long Bridge.

Her winning art piece is inspired by her experience and memories of the area’s lakes, rivers, mountains and forests.

“Memories and joy underpin all my pieces, especially this one,” Hammond said. “My work is an invitation to the viewer, a visual feast of exuberant color and light to evoke personal memories, the warm, often forgotten snapshots of happiness, comfort and celebration."

Each artwork includes two to 20 layers of colored pencil, with the final piece requiring up to 45 hours, depending on the complexity.

“My work is an act of meticulous building, where layers of brilliant color accumulate to form surfaces that pulse with energy and optimism,” Hammond said. “By pouring this heartfelt intention into every stroke, I hope to connect the viewer to the profound, enduring embrace of joy, not as a fleeting moment, but as a rich, layered and resonant experience.”

The winning art piece will be revealed July 7, following the Festival’s annual poster unveiling and sponsor appreciation event.

The artist’s donation of this original piece is not only a tradition but a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization’s mission. The original art is auctioned, with bidding beginning July 7 and concluding at the grand finale performance Aug. 9.

The artwork of Fennik Johanson, 9, was selected as the winning piece of the Festival’s 2026 Youth Poster Contest. His entry features the state of Idaho, a guitar, a piano, sheet music, fireworks and more.

The Festival’s Youth Poster Contest is a new and separate division of the annual Poster Contest for artists ages 14 and younger.

Info: festivalatsandpoint.com/posters

    Fennik Johanson, 9, of Sandpoint, is the winner of the Festival at Sandpoint's 2026 Youth Poster Contest.
  

    Hammond