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2025 Annual Birds & Blooms Photo Contest (#337) Official Rules 

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE AN ENTRY’S CHANCE OF WINNING.

Birds & Blooms Photo Contest (#337) (the “Contest”) is sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC (“Sponsor”), the publisher of Birds & Blooms and a part of the Trusted Media Brands, Inc. family of brands.

  1. Eligibility: This Contest is open to legal U.S. residents residing in one of the 50 United States or District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or the age of majority in the jurisdiction of their residence at time of entry, whichever is older (“Entrant”). Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiary companies, judging agents and promotion partners, and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouse) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to participate. Contest is void where prohibited by law or otherwise regulated.
  2. How to Enter: Contest begins at 9:00am Central Time on May 23, 2025 and ends at 3:00pm Central Time on July 31, 2025 (the “Contest Period”). To enter visit http://www.birdsandblooms.com/contests and follow the on-screen entry instructions. All entries must include your full name, address, city, state, zip/postal code, telephone number and email address. Entries submitted in geographic areas in which the entry is not permissible will be disqualified. If entries do not contain all necessary information, Entrant will be disqualified. Please be certain to follow all directions. Sponsor is the official timekeeper for this Contest. In the event the Contest is entered via a mobile device, Message and Data charges may apply.
  3. Entry Requirements:  Entrants must submit a photo that is the original work of Entrant during the Contest Period.  Entries may be entered into one of the following four categories: (a) Birds, (b) Flowers, (c) Hummingbird or (d) Butterflies (each, a “Category”). Entrants will be required to tell us in at least 50 words but no more than 500 words where the image was taken, why the photo was chosen, and, if possible, identify the particular species or plant variety in the photo. Digital photos should be at least 5 MB in size with a maximum size of 25 MB, and 300 DPI. Entrants can submit one photo per Category.  Each photo submitted to the Contest, along with any accompanying title, description, captions, or other text or materials provided by the Entrant, will collectively be referred to as the “Entry” or “Entries.” All Entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Each Entry must be the original work of Entrant and must not infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other rights of any person or entity.
  4. Grant of Rights:  By submitting an entry for this Contest, Entrant hereby grants to Sponsor, its parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners and licensees an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, transferable license of, on a gratis basis, all rights, title and interest in and to such Entry, including, without limitation, all rights of every kind and nature (whether now known or hereafter devised, including all copyrights therein and thereto and all renewals and extensions thereof), including without limitation for the purpose of marketing, advertising, and promotion, regardless of your eligibility for the Contest, and the right to use your name, likeness, voice, hometown (e.g., city and state) and biographical information about you in connection therewith, throughout the universe, in perpetuity, for all purposes, in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised.  Entrant hereby waives all so-called “moral rights of authors” and “droit moral” rights (and any similar or analogous rights under the applicable laws of any country of the world). Entrants agree and acknowledge that no public performance, synchronization, mechanical, publishing and/or master use royalties, monies or consideration of any kind will be payable in connection with each Sponsor’s use of the Entry, whether commercial use or otherwise, in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised. Sponsor may contact you via phone or email regarding your Entry.  Entrant agrees that, in the event of an ineligible Entry, the opportunity for the Entry to receive publicity is the sole and sufficient consideration due to Entrant and that the license granted by Entrant herein shall be and remain valid and irrevocable.   
  5. Judging: All eligible entries received during the Contest Period will be reviewed and scored by a Sponsor-appointed panel of judges consisting of Birds & Blooms staff (the “Judges”), who will judge and evaluate entries in four (4) categories: Birds, Flowers, Hummingbirds, and Butterflies, based on the following criteria:
  • Originality: 20%
  • Quality: 60%
  • Personality: 20%

From the initial pool of entries, the judges will select four (4) semi-finalists in each Category, for a total of sixteen (16) semi-finalists. The top sixteen scoring entries as determined by the Judges based on the judging criteria will be deemed semi-finalists in no particular order.  From the sixteen (16) semi-finalists, one (1) Category Winner will be selected in each Category, resulting in four (4) Category Winners.  The top scoring semi-finalist entry in each Category as determined by the Judges based on the judging criteria will be deemed Category Winners in no particular order.  From the four (4) Category Winners, one (1) Grand Prize Winner will be selected based on the highest overall score according to the judging criteria.

In the event of a tie at any stage of the judging, the highest score in the Quality criterion will break the tie. All decisions of the Judges are final and binding in all matters related to this Contest.

6. Help Us Decide on the Winners: To help us decide which entry stands out, anyone over the age of 18 residing in the United States with a valid email address may go to www.birdsandblooms.com/contests and vote to support their favorite in accordance with the Terms and Conditions for this Contest. The public voting periods are intended to promote engagement and help highlight popular entries only. Voting results will not determine the contest winners but may be used as a factor in identifying finalists or for promotional purposes. Finalists and winners will be selected by the Sponsor or judging panel based on the official contest criteria. Sponsor reserves the right to monitor voting activity and take appropriate action in the event of suspected abuse or manipulation.  By participating in voting, you agree to Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, accessible at www.tmbi.com/privacy-policy, and any applicable guidelines.  After the 16 semi-finalists are chosen by the Judges, there will be two user-voting periods. The first voting period will consist of the 16 semi-finalists and will help the Judges determine one Category Winner for each category. The second voting period will consist of all the Category Winners and will help the Judges determine a Grand Prize Winner. The first public voting period will be held beginning on or about November 19, 2025 and ending on or about December 18, 2025. Users should log onto www.birdsandblooms.com/contests to vote on the 16 semi-finalists, supporting their favorite in each category. Judges will select a Category Winner for each of the 4 categories.   Users will have a second period to help the Judges determine the Grand Prize Winner. The second public voting period will be held beginning on or about December 19, 2025 and ending on or about January 16, 2026. Limit one (1) vote per person per category in the first voting period and one (1) vote per person in the second voting period. In the event of technical difficulties, voting dates are subject to change without notice. The Judges will select all semi-finalist, category winner, and grand prize winner selections based on the contest judging criteria.   

7. Prizes: A total of twenty-one (21) winners will be selected as follows: sixteen (16) semi-finalists will be awarded US$50.00 each; four (4) Category Winners will be awarded an additional US$100 each; and one (1) Grand Prize winner will be awarded an additional US$1,000 (collectively, the “Winners”). The Winners will have their submissions posted on  www.birdsandblooms.com/contests.  Prize will be awarded in the form of a company check made payable to the confirmed winners.  Each prize is not transferable and cannot be substituted or assigned by the Winners, unless prohibited by law. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a similar prize of equal or greater value in the event that the stated prize cannot be awarded for any reason. All taxes, if any, are the responsibility of each semi-finalist and winner. Sponsor, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, promotion partners, judging agents and prize providers, and the respective employees, officers, directors and representatives of each of the foregoing, will not be responsible for any loss, liability or damage arising out of the acceptance or use of any prize(s). All prizes are guaranteed to be awarded, assuming a sufficient number of qualifying entries is received and meet the minimum judging criteria. The total approximate retail value of all prizes in this Contest is US$2,200.00.

8. Notification Process: Potential winners will be selected by Sponsor, whose decisions are final in all respect, and notified on or about the dates hereafter.  Semi-finalists will be selected and notified on or about August 29, 2025 by regular mail and/or email. Category Winners and Grand Prize Winner will be selected and notified on or about January 21, 2026 by regular mail and/or email. Any potential winner will be required to sign and return a Statement of Eligibility, Release, and Payment Authorization within ten (10) days of prize notification attempt or be disqualified and prize may be awarded to an alternate.  Only three (3) alternate drawings will be held, after which the prize will remain un-awarded.   A potential winner who completes the required documents and whose documents are reviewed by the Sponsor and meet the requirements in these Official Rules will be deemed a “Winner.”

9. Conditions: By participating in this Contest, participants agree to be bound by these complete Official Rules and Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, accessible at www.tmbi.com/privacy-policy.  Sponsor is not liable for any malfunctions or failures of any telephone network or lines, computer internet system, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer, mobile or any other device and/or its contents related to or resulting from participation or downloading/uploading any materials relating to this Contest, or other technical difficulties or failures or other errors of any kind.  Sponsor reserves the right to terminate or modify the Contest at any time for any reason.  In such a circumstance, all Winners may be selected based on entries received to date of termination. Sponsor also reserves the right to modify this Contest in the event an insufficient number of entries are received and/or an insufficient number of entries meet the minimum judging criteria.  In the event that two similar entries are received, only the entry judged to best meet criteria as set by Sponsor will be included in the final judging.  Entrants agree to waive all right to, indemnify and hold Sponsor, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, promotion partners, judging agents and prize providers, and the respective employees, officers, directors and representatives of each of the foregoing, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, loss, damage, or expense arising out of or in connection with this Contest. In the event of any dispute regarding the identity of an entrant who submitted an online entry, the authorized account holder of the email address used for the entry at the time of entry will be deemed the entrant. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g. business, educational institute) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning entry. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any person tampering with the operation of the website or the entry process.

10. No Recourse to Judicial or Other Procedures/Severability: To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. In the event that a court of competent jurisdiction finds the foregoing waiver unenforceable, entrants hereby consent to the jurisdiction and venue residing exclusively within the federal or state courts sitting in Milwaukee County in the State of Wisconsin and agree that any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. Entrants agree that these Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without reference to principles of conflicts of law. If any provision(s) of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.

11. Winners’ List/Consumer Information: If you do not want to receive future sweepstakes or skill contest postal mailings from Sponsor, specify your request and write to: 2025 Annual Birds & Blooms Photo Contest (#337) Mailing List, P.O. Box 3125, Harlan, Iowa 51593-0191. To receive a list of winners, write to 2025 Annual Birds & Blooms Photo Contest (#337) Winner List, P.O. Box 3063, Harlan, Iowa 51593-0127. Winners’ list request must be received within one year of the Contest Period.

12. Sponsor: RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC., 1610 N. 2nd Street, Suite 102, Milwaukee, WI 53212