A knight in a green cape, returning victorious from battle, stands before Dartmouth Row and raises a mug in celebration.
The dragon he slew, with a sword still in its chest, lies behind him on a sled next to a shield emblazoned with the Dartmouth insignia.
Alan Lemley '99 brought this scene of medievalbattle to life in his winning design for the Winter Carnival poster contest.
The poster, which was Lemley's first experience with the pastel medium, is based on a scene from the popular Christmas book "The Polar Express."
Chris Van Allsburg, the illustrator for "The Polar Express," won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for best illustrations.
Lemley -- who has no art background and said he only draws "once in a blue moon" -- will receive a $100 award for his design.
Winter Carnival Council Chair Amy Henry '97 said her group looks for drawings that express the selected theme of Winter Carnival for each year. "Twas a Cold and Snowy Knight: A Medieval Carnival" is this year's theme.
Originally, Winter Carnival had no specific theme. Carnival posters, a tradition that started a few years after the first officialWinter Carnival in 1911, merely depicted typical winter activities.
The council invented three adjectives to describe the feeling a Winter Carnival poster should embody.
Henry said the council wanted posters that are "Dartmouthy, wintery and posterish."
Henry said she liked Lemley's poster because it depicted an outdoors scene and illustrated "the intrigue and mystery that this theme lends itself to and also the traditional look that Carnival invites."
The "perfect lettering and professional look" of Lemley's poster were also attractive, she said.
The council has incorporated runner-up poster designs into other aspects of the Winter Carnival.
The design of Richard Sevilla '98, which won him a $50 prize, graces the mugs and t-shirts that will be sold during Carnival.
The cover of the Winter Carnival program displays the poster design of Jeff Borkowski '99.
Caroline Timbers '98 reproduced her poster submission on a canvas that will be hung on the snow sculpture as a flag.
The 1997 Winter Carnival poster is on sale all this week in the Collis Center during the afternoon and Thayer Dining Hall in the evenings.
The posters sell for $5 each, which is used to pay for the printing costs of the posters and fund other Winter Carnival projects -- such as the snow sculpture.
