PNC and the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning are inviting New Jersey students in grades two through 12 to take part in the seventh annual PNC American Patriot Essay Contest by writing a short essay on the topic "What the American Flag Means to Me."

The essay should be 100 words or less. They will be judged by a panel of representative from PNC and the balloon festival. Winning essays will be selected based on creativity, poignancy and clarity with consideration given to the grade level of the contestant.

Entries should be submitted by May 1, 2010 to Essay Judges, Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, 363 Route 46 West Suite 200, Fairfield, NJ 07004. Students can also enter the contest through the festival web site at www.balloonfestival.com. Entries should include the student's name, home or school address, home telephone number, grade, age, school name and the name of their teacher.

The festival, the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America, will be held July 23-24-25, 2010 at Solberg Airport in Readington, and features the PNC American Flag balloon, the largest free-flying flag in the world.

This year's grand prize winner will receive a visit to his or her school in June by a gigantic, 75-foot-tall hot air balloon and a special VIP package at this year's festival: a hot air balloon ride for two, four Blue Sky Club VIP tickets, and the opportunity to meet one of this year's concert headliners. Past teen sensations to perform at the festival include the Jonas Brothers, Disney's Demi Lovato and ABC Family star Meaghan Martin. Second and third place prizes consisting of festival admission and merchandise will be also awarded to students.

The winning student's immediate classmates will each receive one complimentary general admission ticket to the festival and the winning student's teacher and school principal will each receive two Blue Sky Club VIP tickets. Every teacher in the state who submits a group of 15 essays or more on behalf of their students will receive two free general admission tickets to the festival regardless of whether one of their students submits the winning essay.