RENO –– This fall, Sierra Arts and Buckbean Brewery are partnering on a whimsical and unusual creative endeavor to benefit arts programs in Northern Nevada, the “CAN This Be Art?” mobile creation competition.

A call is going out for any interested participants to create a mobile solely out of Buckbean beer cans, aside from the hanging assembly. If needed to get started, 24 cans are available from the Buckbean Brewery. Entries with name and phone number are due by Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. and may be dropped off at the brewery. Each entrant will receive one ticket to Buckbean’s CanFest – Reno International Canned Beer Festival on Oct. 23. Mobiles will be hung and then judged by the public at a Buckbean Brewery reception on Oct. 9, beginning at 6 p.m.

Winners will be announced at CanFest, with the winning mobiles showcased and also notified by phone. One grand prize winner will be featured on the Sierra Arts Web site with their creation and receive a pony keg of Buckbean beer and two VIP tickets to the Sierra Arts Brew HaHa event on Jan. 22, 2010. Two runners-up will also receive two general admission tickets to the Brew HaHa. All creations will then be displayed and auctioned off via silent auction at the January event.

This competition will benefit the Sierra Arts Foundation and its many community arts programs, such as the Elder Care Concert Series, Grants to Artists, Arts in Education, Arts Alternatives, Concerts in the Gallery and Sierra Arts Gallery Exhibitions. Proceeds from both the beer sales at the reception on Oct. 9 and the Brew HaHa’s silent auction will go towards assisting in funding these programs.

Participants are asked to fill out a brief letter of intent online at www.sierra-arts.org by clicking on the “CAN This Be Art?” icon prior to submitting their mobiles or picking up cans to get started. For both can pick-up and the “CAN This be Art?” reception, Buckbean Brewery is located at 1155 S. Rock Blvd., Suite 490. Call 857-4444 to arrange for cans or for more information. Interested participants can sign up at www.sierra-arts.org.

Although all ages are invited to create a mobile, all prizes must be redeemed by someone 21 years or older. Please visit www.sierra-arts.org for more details, or call 329-ARTS (2787).