Nearly 200 students from Lemont's public and private schools participated this fall in the second annual "Lemont Loves the Arts" showcase.

An open house was held Tuesday night at SS. Cyril and Methodius School, 607 Sobieski Drive. It featured entries from students in kindergarten through eighth grade in a broad range of categories. Though the majority of entries were in the traditional fine arts category, many students also contributed work in areas such as photography, dance, music, literature and computer-generated art.

First, second- and third-place winners were awarded by outside judges — Lynn Antonopoulos, Mary Inman, Dino Juarez, Aldo Mazzotti, Mona Parry, Lisa Simone Porter, Laurie Saulys, Stan Sczepanski and Rachel Snyder — who had expertise in their media.

This year's theme, “My Dream Is...”, required students to reflect on their dreams for the world and themselves.

"Lemont Loves the Arts" was created last year by Lemont's parent-teacher organizations to bring all of the village's schools together through art.

BJ Marshall contributed to this report.