The Alhambra Source Storytelling Competition was born from the idea that seeing the world from the eyes of young people can be an enlightening experience for all. We offered a competition in three categories, K-2nd Grade, 3rd-5th Grade and 6th-8th Grade.

And the winners of the 2019 Storytelling Competition are:

K-2nd Grade:

1) Una Ibranan, Park Elementary

2) Alisa Sambajon, Marguerita Elementary

3rd-5th Grade

1) Emily Obregon, Park Elementary

2) Cassidy Chew, Monterey Highlands Elementary

6th-8th Grade

1) Allison Gonzalez, Garfield Elementary

2) Jiantao Yu, Marguerita Elementary

 

The winners in each category received a $100 Amazon gift card and the second place prize was a $50 Amazon card. Each also received a gift card from Fosselman’s, the venerable Alhambra ice cream parlor, for a banana split.

The awards, which included a commemorative plaque and a copy of the Alhambra Source Anthology book, were presented last Sunday during an informal meet and greet at Alhambra Park with Alhambra Source staff, including Helen Arase, Multimedia Reporter; Dominic Tovar,  Community Outreach Manager; Jon Thurber, Publisher; and Miguel Drayton, Project Leader. The Shredded Carrot bakery donated  yummy cupcakes to the event.

 Each Thursday for the next six weeks we will be publishing one of the entries.

This week’s story, “A Letter to a Friend”  by Una Ibranan, is authored by a second-grade student at Park Elementary School in Alhambra.

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Dear Isabel,

I wish you lived in our city. Many people speak different languages. People from different cultures provide richness like: Thai food, Mexican food, Korean food, and other things like pizza, and sushi too! I even got octopus skewers at the Farmer’s Market. They were so yummy. Also, you can ride bikes on the streets almost anywhere! There are lots of grocery stores that sell us our healthy food. The parks are really good to get exercise for your body. And the Pumpkin Run does that too! You can get lots of treats on Main Street after you exercise.

In some cities, they don’t let you do fireworks, but in Alhambra, they do. You would have lots of fun here. In the summer, at Alhambra Park they have movies at night! You can take chairs, blankets, & snacks to spend time with your family. They also have a Dodger playground that we love to play at. In the summer, we have a yard sale to get rid of old things and make some money. Afterwards, we walk to treat ourselves to great ice cream. The cookie monster flavor is my favorite!

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There is something that I would improve, though. Faucet water doesn’t taste as good as what we get from the water store down the street. It is purified, filtered, and goes through reverse osmosis. Maybe, if we did this to the city water, it might taste better. All in all, I think you’d love to live here in Alhambra. If you did, I’m sure we would meet up often. We walk to a lot of places and run into our friends all the time at the Library or at the store! Anyways, I hope we can be neighbors soon. I miss you!

Your friend,
Una Ibranan