In November 2013, the residents of Miami Beach, Florida (http://www.miamibeachfl.gov), were invited to submit a poem on why they love Miami Beach. The contest was part of Miami Beach’s continuous civic pride campaign, Like2Love Miami Beach, which aims to highlight everything that makes the island-city a great place to live and work.

“Our vibrant community offers a ton of literary inspiration from our beautiful beaches, historic architecture, culture, sensational entertainment, shopping, dining and an exciting nightlife, so we’d like to remind ourselves and the public of what makes our city such a great place,” said City Manager Jimmy Morales.

Entries had to incorporate the phrase “Like to Love Miami Beach” somewhere in the poem and brevity was preferred, with no more than eight lines. The contest was open to people of all ages and entries were restricted to one per person.

Contestants had the chance to win prizes and their poems featured in Miami Beach promotional materials. Guidelines were posted on the city’s website. Poetry and communications professionals selected three finalists, and the public helped choose the grand prize winner. All poems submitted were hung on a “poet tree” at a city park.

More information on the poetry contest can be found at:

http://web.miamibeachfl.gov/news/scroll.aspx?id=71222