Reporter

Ride and Reap. ABATE Tulsa and River Spirit Casino are teaming up for the 32nd Annual Tulsa Toy Run to benefit the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program on Dec. 11. The River Spirit Event Center will be the main drop-off zone for all who are interested in participating, with another "drive thru" area located at the parking garage just north of the casino.

On Dec. 11 the streets will once again fill with bikers anxiously awaiting their turn to do their part in this year's ABATE Tulsa Toy Run. Anyone who would like to donate is welcome to bring their toy donation to the River spirit Event Center or drive thru collection site from 1:30-5:30pm. All those participating will receive $10 Match Play. The River spirit Casino Players Club locations will be collecting cash donations. For more information, please visit riverspirittulsa.com.

Masterpiece Movement. The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing the most talented teen artists and writers in the United States and Canada, has launched its call for entries for the 2012 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Creative teens in grades 7-12 are invited to submit work in twenty-eight categories of art and writing, including film and animation, video game design, sculpture, photography, fashion design, poetry, journalism, humor, dramatic script and science fiction.

Student submissions are judged on the regional level by the alliance's affiliates, with the top winning works presented to national panels of creative leaders to determine which will receive the highest honors.

To be eligible, students must be in grades 7-12 in a public, private, parochial, home-school or out-of-school program in the U.S. or Canada, or in an American school abroad. Deadlines for submitting work vary by region and generally range from Dec. 15 through Jan. 15, 2012. Visit artandwriting.org for more information.

Designing America. Obama for America has selected a poster designed by Jeff Rogers, graphic designer for the Tulsa Area United Way, as a finalist in its "Art Works" poster design contest.

Obama for America invited artists from across the country to volunteer their creativity to support President Obama's American Jobs Act. Over 1,000 designs were submitted and only 12 finalists were chosen to be voted on by the public.

Three winners will get a framed print of their poster signed by President Obama and a limited edition of their poster will be sold in the campaign store with proceeds benefiting the campaign. The public can vote at barackobama.com/artworks.

Word Works. The Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries invites local wordsmiths to enter the 35th Annual Adult Creative Writing Contest for a chance to win cash for their snappy sonnets and enlightening essays.

The Friends group sponsors the annual contest to give unpublished authors an outlet for their writing. The contest is open to any person 18 years or older who lives, works, attends school in Tulsa County or has a nonresident TCCL library card. The deadline to submit entries is Jan. 31, 2012.

Submissions of unpublished original text are welcomed in these categories: Poetry, with a 400-word limit; Informal Essay, with a 5,000-word limit; Children's Fiction, with a 3,000-word limit; Short Story, with a 5,000-word limit.

A $100 cash prize plus a book and certificate are awarded to the best works in each category. Second-place winners receive a $50 cash prize plus a book and a certificate. All winners and participants are invited to the awards ceremony at 2:30pm, April 15, 2012, at Central Library. Entry forms are available at all TCCL locations or at tulsalibrary.org/friends. For more information on the Adult Creative Writing Contest, call Gretchen Hannefield, Friends liaison and library volunteer coordinator, 918-549-7408.