For the second straight year, the budding artists of Julie Budeau’s fourth-grade class at Scouters Mountain Elementary School in Happy Valley won a $1,000 first-place prize for their original artwork submitted at the 20th annual Jubitz Winter Wonderland Children’s Art Contest.

The award will be combined with last year’s prize money to finance a permanent mural display celebrating the ethnic/cultural diversity of the student body. Seven murals representing the seven continents will be designed and painted entirely by the students. Paint and brushes will be donated by Miller Paint.

The art competition has long been a highlight at Jubitz Winter Wonderland, one of America’s largest drive-through holiday light shows. Entries from schools throughout the Portland/Vancouver area were displayed along the 1.9-mile show at Portland International Raceway.

Visitors were asked to vote on their favorite artwork based on the theme “Caring and Sharing.” Each participating school was provided with a 4-by-8-foot board, paint and brushes. The competition was created to support elementary school art programs, an educational component that has shrunk or disappeared at many schools in recent years.