Kids compete as cartoons

More than 500 Las Vegas children, ages 4 to 14, recently descended upon the Summerlin community to participate in Toon Disney's Most Animated Kid Search contest held at The Trails Park.

The event was part of the 24-hour all-cartoon channel's national promotional tour.

Participants took a "toon" screen test to show their wackiest side on camera and compete for the title "most animated kid in America."

As participants performed, their image was run through a special effect processor and the resulting "toon screen test" footage was streamed on a giant LED screen.

Joshua Helmick, 8, of Henderson was the local winner and will compete for the national grand prize. At the conclusion of the tour, 10 semi-finalists will compete and kids nationwide will vote for the winner. The national winner will receive a trip to Hollywood where he or she will be animated for a cartoon to air on the network.

Developed by The Howard Hughes Corp. in the western valley, Summerlin has ranked as the nation's best-selling master-planned community for eight of the past nine years. The community is unfolding as a series of villages, each with its own major park or golf course.

The community is home to eight golf courses, nearly 100 parks, more than 90 completed miles of trails, 16 public and private schools, houses of worship, shopping centers, business parks, medical centers, and nearly 130 models.

Homes are available in a variety of styles, including single-family homes, townhomes and condos. Prices start from less than $100,000 to more than $700,000.

Custom-home sites measuring from one-quarter acre to three-quarters of an acre are priced from the mid-$100,000s to more than $1 million, and predesigned custom homes are priced from about $800,000 to more than $3 million. Apartments offer rents starting from the $700s.

To visit the community's home finding center, take Sahara Avenue west, past Hualapai Way, to Town Center Drive, or take Interstate 215 to Sahara. The center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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