Every holiday season for the last 20 years, Northport Public School Art Teacher Jen Evans has been organizing a hand turkey competition for students to display their artistic talents. Over the years, students and even adults have taken the simple prompt of transforming a turkey cut-out using just their creativity and turning the handmade creation into something worth treasuring.
Evans said she wanted to start something fun and unique in her first year as an art teacher at Northport, adding that she aimed for the idea to be obtainable and fun, to require some skill, thought, and be deeply creative.
“Traditions are what set us apart from the school next door, they are what make us a community and bring us close together,” Evans said. “Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays because it is all about spending time with family, sharing a delicious meal, and enjoying each other’s family traditions. My family has a turkey pinata we bash after dinner, we make a table centerpiece and play music together in the evening. The next day, we get our Christmas tree, and getting it from Kolariks is one of our new traditions (as well as the tree lighting ceremony in Northport and the reindeer!). It is traditions like this that warm my heart.”
From then on, Evans said she decided to create the event around Thanksgiving. Evans explained that it was important that the activity had nothing to do with the historical tensions that can exist from celebrating the day, so she settled on the basic hand turkey.
“However, it has turned into being anything but basic,” she said. “My rules had to be simple: Your hand has to be in it. It needs to be cut out and have no background. Creations can have accessories and friends, but everything has to be handmade… If two contestants want to join forces and create a theme-based submission, they can do so, but each turkey will be voted on separately.”
In the first few years of running the holiday project, Evans said students were very creative, however, submissions didn’t start “really spicing up” until the third year. Evans recalls during one year, a student, Devon DeVrient, bringing in actual turkey feet for his project, in which they hung up at school. Another student, Olivia Kinker, won for a few years in a row because her turkeys were also amazing, Evans said, particularly recalling a Sherlock Holmes themed 3D turkey cardboard cutout “that stole the show.”
Every grade in the school participates in the activity, starting from kindergarten to senior year. Evans said her student, Lilly Dean, has even saved all of her turkeys from over the years, noting that she still has some hanging on the walls in her home.
“Alan Heckl won when he was young and again a few years ago with his mesmerizing mushroom hand turkey where each finger was a 3D mushroom. He has his name on the golden trophy,” she said. “Corbin Robertson has won twice since I introduced a golden hand turkey trophy that gets signed by the winner. This is only the 4th year since we have been doing that. I am excited to see who else gets on there.”
Northport student Justin Miller has created three handmade turkeys over the last few years, and even won the elementary prize last year for his design of the Lich from the show “Adventure Time.” Miller approached this year’s creation a little differently though, adding another cutout of his hand to the design for more detail.
“I thought if I used more hands, it would look more dragon- like, and having the flame also be made from my hand really makes it stand out,” Miller said.
First place gets to sign the prized golden trophy that’s now had a few winners mark their name on it, as well as $20 and turkey leg hat. Evans said she also hands out “stuffed turkey hats, blow-up turkey legs, and turkey-themed t-shirts with horrible puns on them as prizes.”
“The first day I launch the lesson, I try to teach it only with ‘Gobbles.’ It usually lasts about three minutes and then I can’t stick with it, but the kids love it,” she said. “This year there will definitely be some Skibitty Toilet Hand Turkeys, Among Us, Minecraft, Sonic, and Pikachu. We have a Trump’s Ear turkey by Lantz Courson already that is pretty wacky. Justin Miller made an unbelievable dragon turkey with spitting out fiery flames in the shape of his hand as well.”
Since starting the annual turkey project, staff at the school have also started participating, making turkey creations for their own competition. Evans herself has made her own variety of hand-made turkey creations over the years, including a collection of designs inspired by famous artists like Salvidor Dali, Frida Kahlo, Yayoi Kusama, Jean Micheal Basquiat, and Andy Warhol.
“It is a ton of fun and reminds us that we are all a big family. I love Northport Public School. I have spent my life working here and I hope this is a tradition that outlives me…” she said. “Seeing other adults jump on the train has been really fun…” The school will vote on their top three picks this week where all votes will be tallied, while the winner of this year’s competition will be announced next Wednesday before students go to break. Community members are welcomed to come out and see the show in the foyer featuring handmade turkeys from everyone in the school this week if they are interested.
