The City of Carrollton Marketing Services team won two awards for work on the Festival at the Switchyard at the National Association of Government Communicator’s Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards.

The poster design for the 11th annual Festival at the Switchyard, Carrollton’s signature event, earned first place in the Print - Poster category and second place in the Graphic Arts category for its unique composition and style elements that set the tone for the Festival’s graphics, T-shirts, and guitar-giveaway. The design’s dark and weathered background reflects the alternative rock style of the 2021 event headliner Blue October, emphasizes the event’s 11th year in production, and pays homage to the historic train-based Festival location on the Downtown Square.

The award-winning Festival at the Switchyard, held the first Saturday in November, draws more than tens of thousands of attendees annually. This year’s 12th annual Festival at the Switchyard will be held on Saturday, November 5 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.  on the streets of Downtown Carrollton and offers something for everyone including free family-friendly concerts featuring nationally known headliners, a beer garden, free rides and games, free children’s entertainment and activities, free parking, and unique stores and quality vendors for shopping and dining. Save the date for another exciting year of Festival fun in downtown Carrollton.

“The City of Carrollton’s Marketing team prioritizes engaging our citizens to increase awareness, excitement, and investment in our city, and works to further Council’s goal of being the community that families and businesses want to call home. We are proud to be recognized for those efforts by our peers at a prestigious national organization such as NAGC,” Marketing Director Kelli Lewis said.

The NAGC is dedicated to advocating, promoting, and recognizing excellence in governmental communication. The awards give communicators the opportunity to share some of their best work, innovation, and creativity. Entries are judged by teams of professional communicators. The annual NAGC conference awards program serves as a professional highpoint for government communications internationally. In addition to the peer recognition fostered by the NAGC, the process allows all participating members to learn more about what best practices and innovative communication tools are being used around the world and provides invaluable networking opportunities and practical educational sessions to help government communicators increase their skills.

“This annual national awards program recognizes superior government communication products and those who produce them,” NAGC President Scott Thomsen said. "As government communicators, we believe that every citizen has a right to equal, full, understandable, and timely facts about the activities, policies and people of the agencies comprising their government. The works submitted this year really embodied that belief. The example set by these government communicators is one we should all follow."

This year’s awards were presented at the NAGC 2022 Communications School conference on May 11. For a complete list of City accolades, visit cityofcarrollton.com/awards-accolades.