Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Have you seen a great view in Northern Sunrise County, managed to get a picture of it, and want to share it with anyone who will look?
Northern Sunrise County is asking people to submit their favourite photographs for this year’s annual Calendar Contest, with the chance to be featured in the 2026 Community Calendar.
Family and Community Support Services director Amber Houle says the contest is open to participants of all ages and they have until Sept. 5 at 3 p.m. to submit their favourite pictures.
“The calendar contest has been running for approximately 14 years,” says Houle.
“When it was originally developed, only Northern Sunrise County residents could participate in the contest. It has since opened to include everyone, with the requirement that the photos must be taken within Northern Sunrise County or the Village of Nampa,” she adds.
Each person is allowed to submit up to four pictures into the contest. The calendar is circulated to all NSC and Village of Nampa residents, and it is also available at the administration building.
“It encourages our residents and people visiting our area to get out and explore our area in more depth,” says Houle.
“It is also a way for us to highlight the beauty of our county communities, green spaces, and vast farmland as a way to attract more individuals to our area.”
All pictures must be submitted in high quality JPEG format. Houle says any pictures that have identifiable subjects or that highlight a surrounding municipality and/or town (people, names, businesses) will not be accepted.
“I’ve personally discovered new areas of the county once the contest was underway, we have lots of hidden gems that only locals know of,” Houle says.
Photographs received by the Sept. 5 deadline will be loaded onto the Northern Sunrise County Facebook page and the public will have two weeks to “like” their favourite photos. The 12 pictures that receive the highest number of likes will be featured in the calendar.
Photos can be submitted to Amber Houle, the director of Community Services, at ahoule@northernsunrise.net or they can be loaded onto a CD or memory stick, and dropped off at the front desk at the Northern Sunrise County administration office.