Record Number of Haiku in Golden Triangle Annual Competition

Two DC-area students among 2024 Golden Haiku winners 

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- More haiku than ever were submitted to the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District's (BID) 11th annual Golden Haiku competition. Selected local and international writers now have poems displayed on colorful signs dotting iconic streets stretching north of the White House.

The annual haiku writing competition, one of the signature programs for the Golden Triangle BID, celebrates spring with the return of haiku signs adorning sidewalks in DC's downtown. About 4,000 haiku from around the world were submitted in this year's competition, including entrants from 88 different countries - a record number. Closer to home, more than 1,100 haiku were submitted by DC, Maryland and Virginia residents.

"Every year our haiku pop up on the streets just as everyone is walking outside to see the cherry blossoms," said Leona Agouridis, President and CEO of the Golden Triangle BID. "Haiku is a beautiful form of art and we encourage everyone to stroll through our neighborhood and enjoy this beloved sign of spring returning to the Golden Triangle."

This year's first-place winning haiku came from Seth Friedman of Vancouver, Canada:

a bit of bebop
on the boombox...
the pigeon's strut

Winning authors receive prizes up to $500. The submissions from more than 2,150 contestants were judged by a panel of haiku experts, including published poets. The review process involved every judge reading each of this year's 3,997 haiku at least once to rank the most outstanding poems among the entries.

From there, winners were chosen by the judges. Selected haiku were printed on more than 200 metallic signs that the BID is placing in tree boxes and green spaces around the Golden Triangle to be enjoyed by all.

For the 2024 competition, there was a special emphasis on inviting local school children to participate. Of the 416 haikus that came in from youth contestants, 157 were written by local students.

The top DC-area high school haiku was from twelfth-grader, Allison, who wrote:

dim sky brightens—
phone plugged
into a charger

While the winning DC-area elementary school haiku was from first-grader, Trevor, who wrote:

birds flying
in the night sky
through winds

Among the District schools represented by student haiku entries were Capitol Hill Day School, Eaton Elementary School, Holy Trinity School, Jackson Reed High School, Oyster-Adams Bilingual School, Roosevelt High School, The School Without Walls, Tubman Elementary School, Van Ness Elementary School, and many others.

The recently released Downtown Action Plan indicates that arts and culture will play an even bigger role in the future of the Golden Triangle.

The downtown arts scene is already expanding, with Artomatic returning to the District for its 25^th Anniversary event in the Golden Triangle. Artomatic runs through April 28 and features art and performances by more than a thousand artists in 300,000 square feet of former office space.

With haiku signs, public art sculptures, pop-up theatres, and massive arts events, the Golden Triangle is one of the most dynamic and art-focused communities in the central DC office corridor.

Golden Haiku signs will be displayed throughout the Golden Triangle into May. A list of all the winners is available online at goldentriangledc.com/haiku.

About the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District
Formed in 1998, the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) enhances Washington, DC's central business district, the 44-square-block neighborhood stretching from The White House to Dupont Circle. For more information, visit goldentriangledc.com and follow the BID on X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Golden Triangle Business Improvement District