Cutest Christmas Pet Photo Contest
Welcome to our fundraiser! Each year, the Weirton Festival Committee's photo fundraiser raises funds to help with the Weirton's Christmas on Main Street event. A portion of the proceeds will also be donated to a local animal rescue organization. The "Cutest Christmas Pet Photo Contest" is open to anyone 18 years or older, from anywhere, who would like to enter their pet! Eligible animals can include any pet or group of pets such as a dog, cat, bird, gecko, horse, goat, goldfish, bunny, chicken, pig, hamster, turtle, or any similar animal that can be photographed and lives with the contest entrant; no wildlife will be accepted.
To participate, an entrant must submit a Christmas themed pet photo. The entrance fee is $10 per submission. With payment of the submission fee, 10 votes are automatically awarded. Be sure to enter all your critters! Photos should be digital, in focus, and sharp enough to look good on the internet and show off the pet. Only Christmas themed photos of pets, which may include a person with the pet, will be accepted. By submitting a photo, the pet owner is granting GoGo Photo Contest and the Weirton Festival Committee approval to post their pet photo on the contest website, the Facebook page of the Weirton Festival Committee's Weirton's Christmas on Main Street, and any other media outlets.
The Weirton Festival Committee thanks all our sponsors, entrants, and voters for supporting the Christmas on Main Street event. Thank you for your generosity! Please check out our awesome sponsors and our amazing prizes valued at $2,795.
Pet owners are encouraged to have their friends, relatives, and co-workers visit the contest website and vote for their entries. Each vote costs $1, and there is no maximum on how many votes can be purchased. For example, $100 pays for 100 votes that can be used anytime during the contest period. Pet owners may purchase additional votes anytime throughout the contest.
The contest voting period is 12:00:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, through 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024. Be sure to vote early and often to support the Weirton Festival Committee's Christmas on Main Street event and a local animal rescue organization.
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded to the
Top 3 Pets based on the number of votes received by 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024. There will be a total of three (3) prize packages. All 3 winners will be featured in the Weirton Daily Times and on social media. Top pet winners may be asked to be available for interviews by the news media.
First Place:
The pet with the most votes will be crowned the "Cutest Christmas Pet 2024". The first place winner will receive:
- First place ribbon
- $400 Amazon gift card provided by Taylor & Makricostas, PLLC
- $400 Visa gift card provided by Nick's Auto Sales & Rebuilders, Inc.
- $150 gift card provided by Pet Supplies Plus
- $100 gift card provided by Outback Steakhouse
- $200 gift card provided by Kroger
Prize Value: $1,250
Second Place:
The pet with the second highest number of votes will receive:
- Second place ribbon
- $300 Amazon gift card provided by Taylor & Makricostas, PLLC
- $300 Visa gift card provided by Nick's Auto Sales & Rebuilders, Inc.
- $100 gift card provided by Pet Supplies Plus
- $70 gift card provided by Outback Steakhouse
- $150 gift card provided by Kroger
Prize Value: $920
Third Place:
The pet with the third highest number of votes will receive:
- Third place ribbon
- $200 Amazon gift card provided by Taylor & Makricostas, PLLC
- $200 Visa gift card provided by Nick's Auto Sales & Rebuilders, Inc.
- $75 gift card provided by Pet Supplies Plus
- $50 gift card provided by Outback Steakhouse
- $100 gift card provided by Kroger
Prize Value: $625
How to Enter and Vote:
- All entries are to be made online by visiting the contest website and following the directions for entering a pet photo in the contest and voting. All payments will be made online through a secure payment site.
- There is a $10 fee to enter a pet photo which automatically gives you 10 votes that can be used for any pet submission; one person can vote as many times as they wish!
- Additional votes cost a $1 each and can be made throughout the contest in any amount.
- Entrants must be at least 18 years old at the time of entry.
- Only online entries will be accepted.
Eligibility
- The Cutest Christmas Pet Photo Contest is open to anyone 18 years or older who would like to enter a pet photo to compete for the title of "Cutest Christmas Pet 2024" for Weirton's Christmas on Main Street event.
- Eligible animals can include any pet or group of pets such as a dog, cat, bird, gecko, horse, goat, goldfish, bunny, chicken, pig, hamster, turtle, or any similar animal that can be photographed and lives with the contest entrant; no wildlife will be accepted.
- The contest is open to anyone, from anywhere!
- To participate, an entrant must submit a Christmas themed pet photo. Photos should be digital, in focus and sharp enough to look good on the internet and showcase their pet(s). By submitting a photo, the pet owner is granting GoGo Photo Contest and the Weirton Festival Committee approval to post their photo entry on the contest website, Facebook, television, newspaper, and any other medium approved by Weirton Festival Committee.
- Photo(s) can include people with their pets.
- Photo(s) can include more than one pet.
- One photo per submission (no collages).
- No edited or altered photos (other than for minor quality adjustments) will be accepted. We cannot accept copyrighted professional photos.
- The entrance fee is $10 per pet submission. With payment of the submission fee, 10 votes are automatically awarded.
- Pet owners are encouraged to have their friends, relatives and co-workers visit the contest website and vote for their pet. Each vote costs $1, and there is no maximum on how many votes can be purchased. For example, $100 pays for 100 votes that can be used anytime during the contest period. Pet owners may purchase additional votes throughout the contest.
- All entry fees and payments submitted for voting are non-refundable and non-transferable.
- By submitting entries into the competition, entrants are committing to pay for all entry fees in full.
- Before prize packages are given, owners must submit a photo with the winning pet(s) verifying ownership of the pet(s).
- All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit the Weirton Festival Committee and Weirton's Christmas on Main Street event taking place on November 23, 2024, and a local animal rescue organization to be given a donation for the holiday season.
Contest Period
Contest starts 12:00:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 and ends at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024.
Weirton Festival Committee will make every attempt to notify the winners via telephone or email by November 18, 2024.
Winners will be honored with their photos in the Weirton Daily Times and on the Christmas on Main Street Facebook page.
Laws and Limitation of Liability
- All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
- In the event that the operation of the contest is impaired in any way for any reason, Weirton Festival Committee may, in its sole discretion, either (a) suspend the contest to address the impairment and then resume the contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of the Official Rules, or (b) terminate the contest, and in the event of termination, award the prizes from among the eligible, legitimate entries received up to the time of impairment. The Weirton Festival Committee reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process; the operation of the contest; act in an unsportsmanlike, disruptive, or offensive manner; or act in violation of these Official Rules.
- By participating in the "Cutest Christmas Pet Photo Contest", entrants agree to release and hold harmless the Weirton Festival Committee, all other Sponsors and or Partners, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising, promotional agencies, other companies associated the contest, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, members, representatives, and agents (the Released Parties) from and against any claim for cause of action arising out of participating in this contest or receipt or use of the prize(s).
- Under NO circumstances will entrants be granted a refund.
- Those who wait until the final seconds/minutes to donate take the risk of the votes not populating in the final total.
- Requests for refunds based on votes not populating in final seconds/minutes will not be granted and will disqualify you from participating in any future contests we hold.
Collection of Personal Information
For entrants to participate in this contest, we must collect some personal information such as the first and last name, email address, age, and city of residence. We also ask for the name and age of pets being entered, which will be shared with the public. The entrant's personal information is not visible to the public, nor will any information gathered be shared with any other agencies, organizations, or persons unless required by law or necessary because of e-commerce transactions. Because we are using the GoGo Photo Contest website, this information is stored on their servers. Credit card information must also be collected from the secure GoGo Photo Contest website. We will not collect, rent, trade, or sell information for commercial purposes or in any way different from what has been disclosed.
Eligible Photographs
- The animal(s) entered in the contest must be living in the care of the person submitting the entry. EXCEPTION: Consider submitting an entry in memory of a pet who has passed away.
- Only Christmas themed photos will be accepted.
- Acceptable photo formats are JPEG and PNG.
- Photos may not be edited or altered (other than for minor quality adjustment). We cannot accept copyrighted professional photos.
- One photo per submission (no collages).
- Photos must:
- Be at least 300 dpi in order to minimize photo distortion online
- Be in color
- Be Christmas themed
- Contain a pet and/or multiple pets
- Photos of people with their pets will be accepted
- Be in horizontal (landscape) format
- Please choose a photo with the highest resolution possible.
Contest Voting
- Online entries must be received between 12:00:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 and 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024. Entries will be accepted at any time throughout the contest period. Once a photo is submitted and approved by Weirton Festival Committee, it will appear in the online gallery on the contest website and will be open to voting by the public.
- By participating in this contest, entrants agree to release and hold harmless the Weirton Festival Committee and each of its officers, directors, representatives, volunteers, and agents from and against any claims of any nature arising out of participation in the contest or receipt or use of any prize.
- The contest is subject to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
- Click the "Participate" tab on the contest website. Each vote costs $1, and there is no limit to the number of votes one may cast. Voters do not have to use all the votes at the time of donation. When voters donate, they will be given the option of applying all the votes to one photo, spreading their votes over various photos, or storing votes in their account. Each dollar donated to a pet's campaign represents one vote.
- Entrants are welcome to vote for their own pet.
- Entrants are highly encouraged to seek votes from friends, relatives, acquaintances, colleagues, and others around the world. Be sure to let them know that their votes help support the Weirton Festival Committee and a local animal rescue organization to be given a donation for the holiday season.
- Votes and donations are time stamped as they are received.
- All votes will be periodically tabulated and displayed on the contest website.
- Due to processing costs, a minimum $5 donation (5 votes) is required.
- All donations and entry fees to the photo contest are non-refundable.
- All votes must be applied to selected photos by the conclusion of the voting period on 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024 to be counted.
- A refund will NOT be given for votes that are claimed to be not populated by the 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024.
- An email address is required to make an online donation so a receipt can be sent to the donor.
- If the winner cannot be contacted by November 18, 2024 and provide a photo with the winning pet(s), the second-place winner will take the top spot. Should the second-place winner also not be successfully contacted and provide a photo with the winning pet(s) by the deadline of November 19, 2024, the third-place winner, once they provide a photo with the winning pet(s), will take the top spot.
- Those who wait until the final seconds/minutes to donate take the risk of the votes not populating in the final total.
- Requests for refunds based on votes not populating in final seconds/minutes will not be granted and will disqualify you from participating in any future contests we hold.
Contest Deadlines
- Entries meeting the photo criteria must be submitted between 12:00:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 and 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024.
- Entries will be accepted at any time throughout the contest period.
- All contest votes must be received between 12:00:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 and 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, November 15, 2024.
- Those who wait until the final seconds/minutes to donate take the risk of the votes not populating in the final total.
- Requests for refunds based on votes not populating in final seconds/minutes will not be granted and will disqualify you from participating in any future contests we hold.
Weirton Festival Committee is committee formed through the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, which is a non-profit organization whose goal is to enhance the quality of life to individuals in the Weirton and Ohio Valley area.