They came in anticipation. They enjoyed in celebration. They left in content exhaustion.

We refer to the winners of the Sargent Art Contest 2008 who were in New York from July 18 to 20, savoring their prize winning trip.

It all started with dinner on Friday evening. Saturday morning started off bright and early with breakfast followed by the Awards Ceremony.

Sargent Art honored the teachers and students both by inviting each teacher to present the Certificate to her / his student.

The battery of paparazzi-style parents feverishly captured this proud milestone in the lives of their children, cameras clicking away at the winners making them feel like world-famous celebrities.

The rest of the day was then spent at various venues – starting with a walk in Central Park, followed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Top-of-the-Rock viewing gallery at the top of Rockefeller Center, Times Square walking tour and the Broadway show “Mary Poppins”.

On Sunday we took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Immigration Museum. The official “Sargent Art Contest 2008” Winners City-tour photos were taken on the ferry with Lady Liberty as the backdrop.

Winners had another opportunity to experience another distinctive side of New York – SoHo and Greenwich Village.

The weather seemed determined to dampen the spirits of the winners, but searing temperatures and stifling humidity did nothing to stop them from enjoying the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. They were determined to pack in asmuch as they could in every moment on this trip – and they did.

Totally exhausted but with palpable thrill on each of their faces, they were home-bound bursting with memories that will be cherished for a long, long time.