Loveable, if-not-very huggable, manatees are showing up on Wilton Drive. The Fifth Annual Justin Flippen Manatee Contest has brought cool and colorful imaginings of the beloved sea cow.

Students from Wilton Manors Elementary and Somerset Academy Village in grades K-5 entered the contest, with 39 winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each grade and each school) were selected by a committee. The winning manatees are on display at Claudia Castillo ART Studio all month.

“I am very proud to be able to continue this manatee contest with the generous support of the local businesses each year as it is a memorial to the late Mayor Justin Flippen who was such a special person and my good friend,” said Claudia Castillo.

Winners will be recognized at the city commission meeting on Dec. 12, and each gets a $25 gift card to local businesses.

The contest was created in 2019 by Justin Flippen, to engage local elementary students with the city and the community so they could participate in the city’s unveiling of Mack the Manatee mascot.