A Sad Day....Thank Gawd For DVD Collections

CTV reveals winning entry for 'Pump Out a Poster' contest

CTV

Canadians have responded to a request to say goodbye to Corner Gas with an overwhelming outpouring of adoration, representing hundreds if not thousands of hours of creativity. Just days before the beloved series takes its final bow, CTV announced today that Walt Radda from Little Britain, ON is the Grand Prize winner of the "Corner Gas Pump Out a Poster Contest".

• Click here to view the winning submissions

His submission, "Thunderface," an ink drawing of the entire cast as the infamous Dog River band on their Farewell Tour, was chosen from nearly 300 entries and becomes the official Corner Gas commemorative poster.

Recently retired from General Motors, the 49-year-old father of five and self-avowed Corner Gas fanatic receives $1,000 cash and more than $2,000 in prizing. The poster will soon be sold at CornerGas.com with proceeds going to Free The Children, an organization dedicated to helping children around the globe.

Mr. Radda's winning design was chosen by an esteemed judging panel including Corner Gas creator and star Brent Butt, the series' award-winning production designer Hugh Shankland, and Joyce Woollcott, Director of Print Design, CTV Creative Agency.

"I like how this poster acknowledged the show is ending, and that we are saying goodbye, but did so in an upbeat, fun way," said Butt of the winning entry. "And of course I get to relive my rock 'n' roll fantasy forever now through Thunderface."

"The overall theme of music was important to the show and particularly to Brent," added Shankman. "There are lots of other references that fans will enjoy without cluttering the elegant composition. It captures the spirit of the show!"

"My family and I have drawn a tremendous amount of enjoyment from Corner Gas, and this contest entry was quite simply a labour of love on my part," said Mr. Radda in his submission. "Thanks for all the laughs!"

Four other submissions will receive secondary prizing: Holly Carr (Canning, NS) for her submission in silk entitled "Gas Cast"; Murray Crossman (Red Deer, AB) for his digital creation "So Long, Thank You"; Wanda Drew (London, ON) for her entry created with hundreds of pieces of felt "Heart Felt"; and Jeanette Jeremoe (Winnipeg, MB) for her digital entry "The Corner Gas Crew."

The winning entry was chosen from a smorgasbord of creative and admirable submissions in every conceivable medium, from more traditional mediums like oil, watercolour and charcoal to etched aluminum, clay, pop-up, caricature, balloons, macaroni, anime and comics. All of the entries - along with comments from fans across the country - can be seen right now at www.cornergaspostercontest.ctv.ca/gallery.

The contest launched on March 23, and closed on April 2. With only 10 days to submit their artwork, CORNER GAS fans pumped out nearly 300 submissions, making it one of the most successful user-generated projects in CTV.ca's history.

The poster contest allowed fans the opportunity to express their feelings visually about the end of the CORNER GAS era and say goodbye at the same time in their own unique way. In addition to the incredible display of creativity, the contest demonstrated the deep connection viewers have to the series via the artists' statements about their inspiration, as well as the many comments posted alongside each submission:

• "If heaven does exist, it is Dog River."
• "Corner Gas is a fantastic TV show, and has left its mark on the history of Canadian television forever."
• "I think the show has done incredible things for the province, and I wish them well."
• "Watching Corner Gas is most certainly a hard habit to break! We will miss the show!"
• "Even though it has come to the end, Corner Gas will live on in the hearts of the weekly Dog River residents, nationwide."

Corner Gas says good bye on Monday, April 13 at 9:30 p.m. ET on CTV and 'A' with the last episode ever, "You've Been Great, Good Night."