Orlando veterans selected for national creative arts festival | va orlando health care | veterans affairs

Orlando , FL — This year, the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival received over 6,500 entries submitted by nearly 4,000 Veterans from 116 VA facilities nationwide. The competition

serves as a platform to celebrate the creative talents of America’s Veterans and to highlight the exceptional support provided to them by VA staff and volunteers. The Orlando VA Healthcare

System proudly congratulates the following Veterans who placed in this year’s competition: FIRST PLACE WINNERS • Art (Colored Drawing): John Lewis – Tears of a King • Art (Collage): Louis

Lochead – To the Oceans, White with Foam • Music (Vocal Group Country/Folk/Bluegrass): Christopher Princler, Fred Briggs, Felix Ruiz (Soldiers B #) – Sloop John B • Music (Instrumental

Classical): Diane Neff – Excerpt from Impromptu Opus 28 No • Music (Instrumental World/Ethnic): Felix Ruiz – Verde Luz SECOND PLACE WINNERS • Drama (Short Video-General Theme): John Ripley –

My Therapy • Music (Vocal Group Rock/Blues): Christopher Princler, Fred Briggs, Felix Ruiz (Soldiers B #) – While My Guitar Gently Weeps THIRD PLACE WINNERS • Music (Vocal Group Pop):

Christopher Princler, Fred Briggs, Felix Ruiz (Soldiers B #) – Save the Last Dance for Me • Art (Oil Painting): Joan Emanuel Sanchez – The Sergeant • Art (Pastels): Joan Emanuel Sanchez –

Soul Sorrow • Creative Writing (Rhyming Poetry-General Topic): Diane Neff – Night Flight The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival  is the culmination of VA facility competitions in art,

creative writing, dance, drama, and music for Veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs national health care system. Veterans exhibit their artwork and original writings or

perform musical, dance or dramatic selections in a live stage show performance. All Veterans invited to participate are selected winners of a national creative arts competition in which

thousands of Veterans enter from VA medical facilities across the nation. VA medical facilities incorporate creative arts into their therapy programs to further the rehabilitation goals for

both inpatients and outpatients. This annual competition recognizes the progress and recovery made through that therapy and raises the visibility of the creative achievements of our nation’s

Veterans. The first-place winners are invited to attend the national festival hosted in Indianapolis, Indiana, May 11-18, 2025. Please join us in congratulating these fine artists for their

amazing talents and accomplishments! For more information on the Veterans Creative Arts visit: www.creativeartsfestival.va.gov

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