Trail Days T-Shirt Design Contest

​The 2025 Trail Days graphic is by Nicholas Danger McPherson.

Enter the Trail Days T-shirt Design Contest

Calling all artists and creatives! You could be the designer of the official Trail Days t-shirts! 
Each year in May, thousands of people gather in Damascus, Virginia for the world’s largest celebration of the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail Days Festival, and the trail itself, bring along people, stories, and cultures from all walks of life to Damascus. We want to celebrate that! We are looking for a design that captures the greater Trail Days experience and appeals to a broad audience of festival-goers. 

Submissions are accepted until 5:00 PM EST on January 15.
Vote for the winner at the Appalachian Trail Days Facebook page from January 22 to 30.
Voting ends at 5:00 PM EST on January 30.

Eligibility & entry

The official design for the 2026 Appalachian Trail Days Festival will be featured on promotional, marketing, and other materials, including official merchandise, the festival guide, and online on the website and social media.

• Only one design submission per person is allowed. There is no entry fee to submit a design.
• All entrants must be 18 years or older. All federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations apply.
• Your design must be original and unpublished. By submitting a design you guarantee that it does not contain any copyright material. 
• The following design types are not acceptable and will be disqualified: AI-generated, the use of copyrighted templates, or stock design elements from Canva or other programs.
• The deadline to submit a design is January 15th at 5:00 PM EST. Late submissions will not be accepted.
• NOTE: ALL Entries become the property of the Town of Damascus upon submission.​

Design Specs

• File Type: The design must be submitted as a PDF or PNG with a resolution of at least 300 DPI. Please name your file as [LastName-FirstName-DesignName].
• Finalist designs may be asked to produce an editable vector file (if not already provided) such as — AI, EPS, PDF, SVG, or a layered and editable PSD file. Hand-drawn designs are permitted but may require edits for the printing process.
• Recommended Artboard Size: 12” wide x 14” tall.
• Design Colors: The design may include two (2) to five (5) solid colors. No gradients, transparencies, shading, or photos. The t-shirt color (negative space) is not included in the color count and the artist is invited to recommend t-shirt colors for the design; Trail Days t-shirts are typically printed on Bella + Canvas unisex jersey and heather cvc short sleeve tees.
• Design Fonts: Fonts must be converted to outlines in the design file. Any fonts used must be free for commercial use; Adobe fonts are preferred.
• Must Include: “Appalachian Trail Days”, “2026”, and “Damascus, Virginia”. May also include “Festival” at the end of “Appalachian Trail Days”.
• Design Placement: May be centered on the front OR back of the t-shirt, to be determined by the Town of Damascus. The title sponsor logo will be placed on the opposite side of the t-shirt. A front design is preferred.

design selection

The Town of Damascus will review entries for:

• Creative execution and originality of design
• Appeal to a broad audience of Appalachian Trail Days Festival -goers
• Relevance to Damascus and the Appalachian Trail
• Eye-catching and visible from a distance
• Production readiness for screenprinting

We’ll announce finalists on the Appalachian Trail Days Festival Facebook page after the contest deadline. The Town of Damascus will select the finalist designs for a voting contest (and reserves the right to select none). At the end of the voting period, the design with the most votes will be declared as the winner. The voting contest will be conducted by using ‘likes’ on a single post on the Facebook page during the voting period. Voters may ‘like’ as many designs as they want; limit one ‘like’ per design per profile/page.

Once the winner has been selected, the Town of Damascus will then determine the print size, placement, and shirt colors of the official Appalachian Trail Days Festival t-shirts. The Town of Damascus reserves the right to make adjustments and alterations to the winning entry to optimize it for printing and will do its best to preserve the integrity of the artwork. The Artist agrees to work with the Town of Damascus and the printer to ensure high-quality printing.

The Winner Will Receive

$100 cash prize
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Daybreak 17 backpack & Vice Versa fanny pack
Prize package including two (2) Appalachian Trail Days t-shirts
Recognition on the Trail Days website and social media throughout the event

Finalists will receive

Prize package including one (1) Appalachian Trail Days t-shirt
Recognition on the Appalachian Trail Days Festival Facebook page throughout the voting contest
​​

Submit an entry

​By submitting a design, you are agreeing to all contest rules and conditions as listed. If you have any questions, please contact the Town of Damascus at info@damascus.org.