Artwork wins Brownsville fifth-grader Caribbean cruise

AUSTIN — Nia-Isabella Garza, a fifth grader from Ortiz Elementary in Brownsville, is the grand prize winner for the Texas General Land Office’s Adopt-A-Beach Treasures of the Texas Coast Children’s Art Contest. Garza’s watercolor shows a child with a recycling bag picking up litter on a Texas beach. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson selected Garza’s art from the more than 3,300 entries from across the state. “This peaceful beach scene beautifully carries the Adopt-A-Beach message that Trashing Texas Beaches isn’t cool,” Patterson said. “Twice a year, youth just like the one in this watercolor learn a real-world lesson about the impact of litter on our beaches through the Adopt-A-Beach cleanups.” Garza’s image, along with 39 runners up, will appear on the cover of the 2014 Adopt-A-Beach calendar The annual competition encourages schoolchildren to learn more about the Texas coast and express what they’ve learned through their art. Open to students in grades K-6 across Texas, the contest motivates thousands of young artists each year. Garza’s winning watercolor earns two round-trip, coach-class tickets from United Airlines to any United destination anywhere in North America, one 7-night Caribbean cruise from Royal Caribbean International departing out of Galveston, Miami, or Ft. Lauderdale and a class party at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels. The grand prize winner's teacher, Irma DeLeon, also receives two round-trip coach-class tickets from United Airlines and one 7-night Caribbean cruise courtesy of Royal Caribbean International.