Each February, we get the pleasure of producing one of our most-read special sections of the year.

Due to the gracious support of the teachers in the Federal Way School District, this section comes to life. A number of years ago, we had the idea to have young kids design an ad for a few businesses in Federal Way. Each year, this has grown and now encompasses what you see in the following pages. (click here to view The Mirror’s Feb. 24 print edition in its entirety)

The goal of this project is very simple. We present the students with a blank box and the businesses’ logo and address — and the kiddos use their artistic abilities to generate an ad. The businesses then comb through the submissions and select their winners. Some can’t decide, so we print more than one.

Over the years, we have had some great submissions. Most of the kids are literal in their ads and some, well, they are true artists as they just flow to wherever. This year, we had several artists go completely rogue. They didn’t like any of the businesses we submitted, so they designed their own. These included giving away all of the food at McDonald’s and going to watch movies. For free, of course. Ah, from the minds of the young a wealth of creativity flows.

Enjoy the ads and while you’re at it, thank the teachers who allowed their students to participate: Jimmy Nguyen, Green Gables; Anne Carpio, Illahee; Peter Reni, Lake Dolloff; Angela Mattson, Lakota; Chris Andrews, Mirror Lake; Laura Eberle, Olympic View; Dena Hagen, Panther Lake; Kristin Norgard, Rainier View; Anne Bell, Leryna Basinger and Jaymi Hamilton, Sacajawea; Yalena Alexander, Sherwood Forest; Jessica Farris, Silver Lake; Regina Simmons and Mandy Tommervik, Twin Lakes; and the fine students at Sylvan Learning  Center in Federal Way.

Through the minds of Federal Way students and their imaginations, this section comes to life.