While the September Shutterbug contest is fully in swing (get those awesome song-inspired photos in by the 23rd!), I wanted to give everyone some extra time to start working on the October contest.

Halloween is right around the corner. Over the years, many fans have assembled awesome Idina-inspired costumes. This is your chance to try it yourself. October’s contest is going to be an Idina costume contest! Detailed rules will be posted on October 1, but the most basic rule you need to know to get started is this: dress up as Idina, whether it’s an iconic look of her own or a costume from her career.

I’m not going to place any limitations on what you can or can’t wear, the allowance of props, scenery, animals, or teams (though you’d have to fight over the 1 prize!). You can be as crazy and creative as you want! Photos will be made public just like the Shutterbug photos, so please take that into consideration for appropriateness. The fans will vote to pick the winner (personalized, signed lithograph), so you better impress ’em! You have until November 1 to send your photo(s) to contest[at]idina-here.com with “October Contest” as your subject!

Note: I know that Halloween is not celebrated in all countries by all people, and you do not need to consider this a “Halloween costume” if you do not partake in the holiday. It’s just a costume contest.

It’s time to launch the second of Idina-Here’s Season of Contests! Last time, we had you digging through photos that someone else had taken. This time, you’re going to be the photographer! Charge up those batteries and free up space on your memory cards. Here we go!

PART I
Take a photograph of something that exists in your environment, whether it’s a building, a sign, a friend or family member, yourself, etc, that, by that image alone, can represent one of Idina’s songs. Confused? Here are a couple examples:

“Defying Gravity”

“Gorgeous”

RULES:

You may use any song Idina has professionally recorded. This means IDINA’S songs from RENT, The Wild Party, Wicked, See What I Wanna See, Still I Can’t Be Still, Here, I Stand, or any benefit/soundtrack/duet recordings that were released for sale (nothing from Joe’s Pub or Adam Pascal’s “One Song Glory”).

You may enter up to FIVE (5) photos.

Photos must be your own new, original work. Turn on the date display on your camera and make sure it’s accurate!

Photos must not contain any text that gives away the song title.

Idina may NOT be in the photo. I know – this is very sad.

No fancy Photoshop tricks.

No videos.

Resize your photos to 1024px wide to be more easily displayed.

Rename your images with the song titles they represent (ex: DefyingGravity.jpg).

Zip/compress your photos (by putting all of the photos into a folder titled with your name, right-clicking [control + click for Macs] and selecting the “Send to…Compressed Folder” or “Compress” option) into a single folder with your first name/last initial (ex: ErinP.zip) and email the .zip file to contest[at]idina-here.com with SEPTEMBER CONTEST as your subject.

BE CREATIVE!

Photos must be received by 11:59 pm ET, 9/30/09

PART II
On October 1, all photos will be added anonymously to the Idina-Here gallery where they will remain for posterity. If you do not wish your photos to stay in the gallery after the contest ends, please tell me in your entry email. Credit will be given to photographers upon contest-end. A link to this gallery will be posted in a news update and on Twitter. Everyone, even those who don’t enter the photography contest, will get to review the photos and submit their song title guesses for each photo via e-mail. I will post more details for PART II at that time.

The photographer of the image that gets the most correct guesses from the fans will receive a personalized & autographed Idina Menzel lithograph! The fan that gives the most correct answers will receive an autographed, limited edition copy of I Stand.

If you have general questions on PART I of the contest, please ask in the comments here. If you have a specific question about your entry and don’t want to give away what you’re working on, you may send me an e-mail. Do not ask about PART II yet, please. Contest is open to everyone, all ages, worldwide.

Have fun, and get creative!

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I received more than 100 entries for the Gallery Scavenger Hunt contest in August! That’s awesome ! I’ve reviewed them all, and our first lucky winner of an autographed (and PERSONALIZED) Idina Menzel lithograph is Rachel H.! Congratulations!

Our second contest will be announced shortly. In the meantime, let me take a moment to take care of some important business. Idina-Here is run by the fans, for the fans. However, it’s not free. The past two years have been generously paid for by donations from people like you. The time has come to ask for donations once again! Kim put together an awesome proposal previously, so I’m going to simply repost what she has linked on the Donations page.

Unfortunately, while I love running this site and putting together everything I can for all of Idina’s fans, it does cost quite a bit of money every year. I hate asking for money, and while I am willing to pay for maintaining the site, help would of course be wonderful! So if you’re a frequent visitor to the site or appreciate all that’s on here, consider contributing to keeping this site on the web just a little bit longer. You don’t have to give a lot (there is a minimum of only 50 cents), and any amount would help.

There are two ways to contribute. The first of which is by using PayPal (the same used for eBay). It’s incredibly easy, and you would in no way be giving money directly to me. It all works through the hosting service of my site, Dreamhost. By using PayPal and the links below, all money will go directly through Dreamhost to a fund for this site. :) Just follow the instructions on the page.

The second way to help is by referring this site. If you’re interested in starting a site of your own, and are looking for a web host to purchase webspace from, all you need to do click on the Dreamhost link below (on the right) when you’ve decided to set up your new account. By doing that, $97 will be given to this site’s donations! To find out about the services Dreamhost has to offer, or to sign up to create your own site, visit Dreamhost.com (but remember: If you want this site to get the referral, you must click here or on the right link below.) The left link will lead you to the PayPal donation page.

Any people who donate will be added to a list of past contributors, so send an e-mail to me to let me know which name you’d like to be referred to as and I’ll add you. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this site, and an even greater thanks to those who are willing to contribute to its future!

Today we’re starting a new contest – surprise! This is not one of the three previously scheduled lithograph contests but an ALL NEW one! Warner Bros. is releasing the UK 25th Anniversary Celebration Edition of Chess in Concert DVD and double-disc CD on September 14th (in the UK), the day after the big ABBA-tribute “Thank You for the Music” concert being held in Hyde Park, London.

To thank you all for being awesome fans, Warner Bros is giving away a copy of the special edition DVD & double-disc audio recording to one lucky Idina fan! Click the image below to be taken to the entry form. Rules and details can be found there. Good luck!

Note: Since there was already confusion – YES, we’re giving away the IDINA VERSION of Chess.

Today we are officially kicking off our season of contests! We’ll have a new contest for you for the next three months. Here’s how it works: details will be posted the first week of the month and entries will be accepted until the last day of the month. Winners will be selected, privately notified, and publically announced soon thereafter. So without further ado, here is Contest #1!

Rules:
* You must find one photo that matches the description of each item listed. You can be creative, but if it’s wacky, tell me why you think the photo qualifies.
* All photos must be from the Idina-Here Gallery. I’ll know if they’re not!
* One entry per person. Contest is open to everyone of all ages worldwide!
* Zip/compress all 16 photos (please don’t send HQ files) into a single folder, name the folder with your name (aka Jane Doe.zip) attach, and email your entry with your full name and mailing address to contest[at]idina-here.com with “August Contest” as your subject.
* Entries must be received by August 31 at 11:59 pm ET!
* Do NOT leave comments in the gallery on the photos you select. This makes them featured in the gallery and ruins the point of having to hunt for the photos. Comments on contest-qualifying images will be deleted all month long, even if it wasn’t your intent to bring attention to that photo!

The winner, selected at random from all completely correct entries, will receive a personalized and autographed Idina Menzel lithograph. You may win only once this season, as it is the same prize each time.

Click READ MORE at the bottom of this posting for the scavenger list! If you have questions, please post them in the comments here. GOOD LUCK!