120 East State announced the winners of its community-based logo contest award winners Saturday and presented cash awards to the winners at the Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 15 at Mercer County Park.

With nearly 600 community votes, the 120 East State Street Board chose from more than 30 artists and selected:

• First Place: Norine Longo, Lawrence

• Second Place:  John Eli DaCosta,  Trenton

• Third Place: Autumn-Brooke Tucker,  Ewing

Trenton’s Rasaan Parker was named the first ever recipient of the Rachel P. Herr Community Engagement Award. Parker’s enthusiasm for the arts in Trenton drew participants to the contest.

“This was a tremendous success for 120 East State, the participating artists, and the Trenton community,” said Board President Cherry Oakley.  “We wanted to tap into the genius of our young area artists and we wanted to engage the community. With nearly 600 votes cast,  63 designs entered from 31 artists, the community, the artists, and 120 East State joined together for a mutually enriching experience. And, if you haven’t seen the entries, I’d really urge you to check them out at the Steeple Center Virtual Art Exhibition.”

“Meeting the artists and sharing the winning designs with the community at Juneteenth capped off this contest in the best way,” said 120 East State Board Member Latarsha Burke, who leads  120 East State’s community engagement efforts.

“We’re grateful to the African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County for giving us a few minutes on the festival stage to celebrate our artists and spread the word about 120 East State’s dedication to the arts in Trenton,” Molly Dykstra, Project Leader, said. “Spreading the word to those who stopped by our booth, we shared about our project, the artists and their logos, had fun engaging people in our free raffle of a toy cheetah and two $25 gift cards to our neighborhood’s Orchid House Cafe. The weather was perfect!”

“We also thank the Herr family for its generosity in creating the Rachel P. Herr Community Engagement Award,” she added. “The Herrs have a long record of civic engagement and support for Trenton and Rachel Herr’s family is steeped in the arts.”

120 East State was formed in April 2022, for the purpose of transforming the historic First Presbyterian Church campus into The Steeple Center, a community-centered performing arts venue, an engine of economic development, and an opportunity for local empowerment giving voice, space, and welcome to its neighbors in the heart of downtown Trenton.

About 120 East State

120 East State (120ES) is a community-based, community-centered investment in the heart of Trenton. Through public and private funding, 120ES is transforming a building with a storied past, First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, into a multi use gathering place for the whole community, including a community cafe, cultural/performing arts venue, and events/program space. Serving Trenton and greater Trenton, 120ES will contribute to the vitality of downtown, provide needed jobs and services to Trenton residents, highlight the told and untold histories of this National Historic Register property, and create a Trenton-proud hospitality zone for visitors to our capital city.

About First Presbyterian Church of Trenton

Founded in 1712, the First Presbyterian of Trenton has been located on this downtown Trenton site since 1727, nearly 300 years (the current structure dates from 1839).  The earliest cemetery grave-markers date to the 1730’s.  Many of Trenton’s original settlers are buried here, but the cemetery is perhaps best known as the final resting place of Col. Johann Rall, killed in the First Battle of Trenton in December, 1776.  The first U.S. military chaplain to be killed in battle, the Rev. John Rosbrugh, is also buried here, murdered by British and Hessian troops during the second battle of Trenton.  Both the church building and cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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