GENEVA – First, second and third-place awards were given to the artists in the latest colorful painted fire hydrants – part of the city’s Art On Fire promotion – at the Oct. 7 City Council meeting.

Cultural Arts Commission Chairman Tim Vetang said the program was started seven years ago, where artists submit plans for how they would paint a fire hydrant.

“It’s open to all artists in the community or anybody who wants to be an artist, not just Geneva residents,” Vetang said. “There’s no age restrictions. You pick a fire hydrant and you submit your design.The city will let you know if you meet the requirements.”

Requirements include not painting it black or in camouflage colors because firefighters need to see them, Vetang said.

The first place winner is Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, featuring a growling dog with a daisy hanging from its lip, located at 624 N. Lincoln Ave. The hydrant was created by Tatiana Hamilton and Natalia Bork.

While the artists could not attend the meeting, they sent family members to represent them, step-brothers Sean and Michael, seventh graders at Geneva Middle School North.

The name, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, references a television show and their family sheepdog, Hodor – from Game of Thrones, Sean said.

“Does he look like this?” Burns asked, referring to the snarling dog muzzle on the fire hydrant.

“Yes,” Michael said.

“No,” said Sean, prompting laughter from the public.

“He does,” Sean insisted.

The boys collected $65 in gift certificates for the artists.

Light it Up Blue, by artist Melissa Price, took second place. The hydrant is located at the southwest corner of Route 31 and Peyton Street, and features puzzle pieces in primary colors.

“I made this for Autism Awareness,” Price said. “It represents how everybody can be so different, but everybody can be interlocked and be united.”

Price credited her husband with helping her get the puzzle pieces traced and her mother with a stencil.

“I have a few family members with autism but I also am a special ed teacher and a board certified behavior analyst, so I work with kids with autism every day. I teach at Harrison Street” Elementary School in Geneva.

Price received $55 worth of gift certificates.

The third place winner was Geneva High School Marching Vikings by artist Faith Petersen who received $50 worth of gift certificates.

The hydrant is located at the corner of Center and Logan streets where the marching band passes by for every home game.

A senior, Petersen plays clarinet with the marching band. Her mother and younger sister, who is also in the marching band helped, she said.

“It’s a nice Geneva … spirit for the city,” Petersen said.

With more than 1,500 hydrants in the city, so there are more years ahead for this competition, Vetang said.

"We'd like to see all of them painted. We have about 115 to 120 hydrants that have been painted to date," Vetang said. "And while many are in the center of town, you can find them throughout Geneva. And there's an updated map on the city's website (www.geneva.il.us) that has pictures and the names of the hydrants so you can scroll through and see them without actually have to leave your home."

The voters who pick the three favorites are members of the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission and the Public Art Advisory Committee and Matt Pasquini, who works in the Economic Development Department, Vetang said.