SMPS Canstruction Long Island competition sparks design industry to action

Canstruction, a charity committed to ending hunger, is using "one can" as a catalyst for change. The SMPS Canstruction Long Island competition will be hosted by RexCorp Realty at RexCorp Plaza, on October 30. Competing teams of design and construction professionals, led by architects and engineers, will showcase their talents by designing and building giant self-supporting structures out of cans of food. Each sculpture takes thousands of cans, in a variety of sizes and colors, to create. The sculptures will be judged in categories such as Juror's Favorite, Structural Ingenuity, Best Use of Labels and Best Meal. Winners from this event will go on to compete in the national competition in May of 2009. Seventy-five cities across the United States and Canada participated in last year's competition resulting in a donation of over 2.2 million pounds of food for hungry people in need.  Sponsored by the Long Island Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) under the auspices of the Society for design administration, teams will spend up to two months designing and testing their structures prior to the final build-out on October 29. The evening of October 30, all entries will be judged by a distinguished panel of jurors, including; WALK Radio general sales manager and founder of the Long Island Comedy Festival Paul Anthony; Top Chef Season 2 Winner Ilan Hall; Danielle Campbell, co-anchor, News 12 of Long Island; Chair of the Long Island Chapter of the U. S. Green Building Council, Gary Anzalone and Singer/Songwriter Jen Chapin. Awards will be presented at the Canstruction Gala on October 30. The structures will be on display to the public from October 31 to November 13, with the price of admission being one can of food. At the close of the exhibition, all cans used to create the sculptures along with all cans collected from the public will be donated to Long Island Cares, Inc., the Harry Chapin Food Bank to help feed the hungry on Long Island. One can - that's all it takes to make a difference.