WATERLOO - Phelps Youth Pavilion has brushed a favorable impression onto the Cedar Valley canvas.

The pavilion at the Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial St., has been nominated for Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect Parents' Pick Award for Best Art Class. Now the pavilion needs the Cedar Valley to vote and help it win the title for Iowa.

Currently, Phelps Youth Pavilion has over 85 percent of the vote in the contest against Des Moines' The Art Store, Ankeny's Art Center and Ames' Octagon Center for the Arts.

This is the second year for the Nickelodeon award. It is the first year Phelps has been nominated.

Parents nominated the pavilion through ParentsConnect, an online resource for parenting advice and community.

"We were ecstatic to be chosen by local parents," said Shannon Farlow, development/marketing director for the Waterloo Center for the Arts.

Farlow said the pavilion received a letter in the mail from Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect notifying it of the nomination.

The combination of affordability, a wide range of opportunities, a family-friendly atmosphere and classes for all ages to "dress for mess and play" makes the pavilion a good candidate for the award, Farlow said.

"I think it's a really family-friendly resource for the community," she said. "It kind of enables us to bridge the gap between generations."

ParentsConnect will announce the winners online on Aug. 15.

The 2009 award winners will be featured on the ParentsConnect Web site, www.parentsconnect.com, throughout the year.