Safeway, Inc. and its exclusive Lucerne dairy brand have named Alejandro Pulido of Phoenix the winner of the $30,000 grand prize in the Lucerne The Art of Dairy “Taste of Moo-sic” art contest, in which high school students have the chance to display their artistic talents on an unconventional canvas: a life-sized fiberglass cow.

Students from California, Washington, and Pennsylvania also took home prizes in the event.

The Art of Dairy contest, now in its fifth year, seeks to promote both strong bones and creative growth, and encourages the artistic ability of students while highlighting the importance of art education in schools.

In keeping with the theme of “Taste of Moo-sic,” entrants were asked to illustrate their visions of music and dairy products using an outline of a cow as the canvas. From the more than 9,600 entries, 30 finalists were chosen to transfer their designs to giant fiberglass cow sculptures. A panel of judges reviewed the entries and selected contest winners who will share nearly $60,000 in prizes with their art teachers and their schools’ art programs.

The winners are as follows:

—Grand-prize Winner: Alejando Pulido of South Mountain High School in Phoenix called his work “Dairy Rhapsody.” The design depicts a cow playing a saxophone and milky piano keys floating above an ice cream cone-shaped trumpet. Pulido will receive $20,000 for his school’s art department, plus $5,000 each for himself and his art teacher

—First-prize Winner: Tani Pettit of North Tahoe High School in Tahoe City, Calif., who named her design “Dark Side of the Moon,” painted the front of the cow to look like a gray-toned robot, while the back was decorated with vibrant musical instruments and cheery dairy characters. She said the images represent “the transition from a mechanical and controlled world to a world of music, art, freedom and dairy.” She wins $5,000 for her school’s art department, plus $2,500 each for herself and her art teacher

Honorable Achievements:

—Grace Nguyen of Evergreen High School in San Jose, Calif., will receive $1,000 each for herself and her art teacher for “Ballade Pour Lucerne.” The design shows singers crooning near a milk waterfall with floating music notes, giant cheese wedges and abstract images

—Chung-Yu “Mago” Huang of Interlake High School in Bellevue, Wash., and her art teacher will each receive $1,000 for the dark and moody “The Sound of Moosic,” which represents Greek mythology’s Euterpe, the muse of music, playing a song as she sits on the rim of a glass of milk

—Qin Liu of Northeast High School in Philadelphia, Pa., painted an array of musical instruments and dairy treats for her “Drifting in the World” design, which is meant to remind us that “when the milk pours, when the world sinks, when we’re feeling sad, we simply remember our favorite music, and then we don't feel so bad.” Liu and her art teacher will receive $1,000 each.

The remaining finalists will receive $500 U.S. Savings Bonds. Including this year’s prizes, Safeway has awarded more than $266,000 in prize money and funds for art supplies through The Art of Dairy Art Contest.

The panel of judges included Mary Scott, chair of the School of Graphic Design at the Academy of Art University San Francisco; Donato Cabrero, assistant conductor of the San Francisco Symphony; and a team of Safeway marketing and Lucerne brand development professionals.

The contest is one of many education-based programs and initiatives Safeway supports throughout its areas of operation. In 2009, Safeway provided $20 million in financial support to schools and education programs through the eScrip program, which allows shoppers to raise money for schools simply by making purchases. Safeway donates a percentage of each shopping trip directly to their chosen schools.

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway operates 1,712 stores in the United States and western Canada, and had annual sales of $40.8 billion in 2009.