The winners are in for the 2007 edition of the annual Wikki Stix competition hosted by the Calvin campus store. The contest, now in its third year, has been sponsored for the past two years by Educational Community Credit Union. 
The "People's Choice" category, voted on by the campus community, went to junior Brett Pennings for an elaborate Chinese Pagoda. 
First place in the "Single Pack" category went to junior Sarah Evans for her knitted sweater and second in that category was awarded to first-year student Crystal Chow for her birthday cake. 
In the "Two-to-Five Pack" category, freshman Andrew Adkins landed top honors with "Praying Mantis Grasping Butterfly" and junior Michelle De Maagd took second for a Wikki zoo composed of 20-some tiny animals. 
Two first-year students, Alex Tiemens and Joe Salowitz, shared the "Six-Plus-Packs" category; Tiemens took the top prize for a pool table complete with cue sticks and a rack of balls, and Salowitz landed second for his take on the Statue of Liberty. And sophomore Kristin Kurtz' won the random drawing for "Rainbow Connection with Kermit the Frog." 
Prizes for the event ranged from generous gift certificates for shopping sprees at local malls to certificates for dinner and a movie to coveted hardware such as a portable DVD player or an iPod. 
"This is really fun," said campus store manager Tom Van Wingerden. "We really look forward to the creations that come out. We never know what we're going to get." 
Indeed, the contest drew an eclectic buffet of Wikki concoctions that filled three tables in the store, including a rocket, a hand holding a globe, a cowboy leaning on a fence, a parrot, a towering Eiffel Tower and many other entries. 
"The creativity is amazing," said Carolyn Hande, a representative of Educational Community Credit Union, who served as a judge. "So much of this is opinion, but I'm also looking at execution," said Joy-Elizabeth Lawrence, Calvin's costume shop manager and another judge. Calvin major gift officer Dale Cooper rounded out the judging panel. 
Three weeks ago the campus store passed out packs of Wikki Stix, and on Friday, November, 16 the panel convened at noon for pizza and judging. "It's really fun to see the anticipation every year and to see this event build," said Van Wingerden, who said the event was developed by the store three years ago as a fun activity during a typically quiet point in the semester. He was grateful for the sponsorship of Educational Community Credit Union, which has allowed the contest to grow. "It's kind of a must-see event. Students are bringing friends in to see their creations, and guests to the store come and marvel at the creativity."