Olive Garden Seeks New Holiday Ideas From Young Writers

Olive Garden is asking students in first through 12th grade: "If you could create a new holiday, what would you name it and how would it be celebrated?" Answers could be worth a trip to New York and a $2,500 savings bond, as part of Olive Garden's 11th-annual Pasta Tales writing contest.

"This year's essay question is a lot of fun and it gives young writers the opportunity to demonstrate some inventive thinking," said Steve Coe, spokesperson for Olive Garden. "Our goal with Pasta Tales is to spark imagination and provide a platform for individual personalities to shine through."

From Oct. 2 through Dec. 1, Olive Garden will accept essays of 50 to 250 words from students in the U.S. and Canada. Entry forms and complete rules will be available beginning Oct. 2 at local Olive Garden restaurants or by logging on to www.olivegarden.com/company/community/pasta_tales.asp.

The grand prize is a trip to New York, dinner at the Olive Garden in Times Square and a $2,500 savings bond. A winner also will be chosen in each grade category and will receive a $500 savings bond and dinner with their family at their local Olive Garden.

Entries must include the writer's name, complete address, phone number with area code, grade, date of birth including year, and a statement that the work is their own. Entries must be submitted either online or postmarked by Dec. 1 and sent to Pasta Tales, PMB 2000, 6278 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33308-1916.

Submissions are judged based on creativity, adherence to theme, organization, grammar, punctuation and spelling by the Quill and Scroll Society of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Iowa with finalists selected by Olive Garden.

For more information about Pasta Tales, call (954) 776-1999 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with 582 restaurants, 70,000 employees and $2.6 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI) , the world's largest casual dining company.

Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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