Post a photo or a video of your local small-town festival, and you could win $100,000 to level up your town’s celebration. It’s called the Hometown Throwdown.
Cenex, the energy brand of CHS Inc., launched the social first contest to help encourage local pride by asking individuals and organizations to share what makes their hometown festival unique.
Cenex has given more than $500,000 in grants to support local communities. These efforts have helped fund over 80 community projects, including improving aging baseball fields, providing school athletic workshops, supporting local food shelters, and more.
“At Cenex, we have always made it a priority to celebrate and support our local communities where our valued retailers and dealers call home. This new social contest, Hometown Throwdown, does just that and so much more,” says Mimi Berlin, expert marketing and communications specialist, energy, at CHS Inc. “It highlights the unique celebrations that bring our local communities together and fosters community pride. We are excited to launch the Hometown Throwdown contest to enable consumers to celebrate the festivals that are near and dear to their hearts.”
The entry period for the competition starts October 3, 2023, and runs until December 15, 2023. Individuals and organizations can enter by nominating their festival by posting a photo to Facebook, Instagram (tagging @CenexStores) or TikTok (tagging @CenexStores_) and using the #PoweredLocally and #Contest hashtags.
Nominations can also be submitted online through the Hometown Throwdown online entry form. Once the entry period has closed, three finalists will be announced in April 2024, and voting will open. The grand prize winner will be revealed in May 2024 and will receive $100,000 for their festival. The remaining two finalists will receive $25,000 each.
To be eligible, festivals must be run by a local chamber of commerce, municipality, downtown commission, community-oriented nonprofit group, or other similar organization. Festivals must take place in the following states: AR, CO, ID, IA, IL, KS, MI, MN, MT, MO, NE, ND, OK, OR, SD, TX, WA, WI, and WY.
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