Reel Lake County Challenge Terms and Conditions

1. Contest Name: Visit Lake County's "Reel Lake County Challenge" (the "Contest")

2. Sponsor: The Contest is sponsored by Visit Lake County ("Sponsor").

3. Contest Period: The Contest begins on June 25, 2025, at 12:00 PM Central Daylight Time (CDT) and ends on August 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM CDT (the "Contest Period"). All entries must be received within the Contest Period to be eligible.

4. Eligibility:

The Contest is open to legal residents of the United States who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry.
Participants may be influencers, content creators, visitors or residents of Lake County, Illinois, or surrounding areas.
Employees of Visit Lake County, their advertising and promotional agencies, and their immediate family members (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and domestic partners, regardless of where they live) and household members are not eligible to participate.

5. How to Enter:

Content Type: Participants must create and submit original video content only. Photos are not eligible.

Content Focus: The video content must capture the participant's experience at one or more of the specified Lake County attractions, restaurants, outdoor recreation spots, concerts, or other venues listed on the official checklist located on the Contest webpage.
Submission Method: Videos must be submitted through the dedicated collector link provided on the official Contest webpage. Do not submit content via email or social media direct messages.
Quantity: Each participant may submit multiple videos, but each video must feature a different experience or aspect of Lake County from the checklist. Duplicate submissions of the same content will be disqualified.
Content Requirements: * All content must be original and created solely by the participant.
Videos must be appropriate for a general audience and free of any offensive, discriminatory, or inappropriate material.
Participants are responsible for obtaining all necessary rights and permissions for any third-party content (e.g., music, recognizable individuals) included in their video.
Videos must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, privacy, publicity, or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity.

6. Judging Criteria: All eligible entries will be judged by a panel designated by Visit Lake County based on the following criteria (but not limited to):

Creativity & Originality (30%): Uniqueness of the concept, fresh perspective, and imaginative storytelling.
Video Quality (25%): Production value, cinematography, editing, sound, and overall visual appeal.
Relevance & Engagement (25%): How well the video highlights the featured Lake County experience and its ability to captivate and engage viewers.
Impact (20%): The overall impression and memorability of the video.

7. Prizes:

First Place Winner (1): The first-place winner will receive their choice of either: A $300 Visa Gift Card OR
An overnight stay at Great Wolf Lodge Illinois in Gurnee (approximate retail value up to $350, depending on date and room type, subject to availability and Great Wolf Lodge terms).
Second Place Winner (1): The second-place winner will receive the prize that the first-place winner did not select (either the $300 Visa Gift Card or the Great Wolf Lodge overnight stay).
Prize Conditions: Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution or cash equivalent is allowed, except at the sole discretion of the Sponsor. Winners are responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes associated with prize receipt. The Great Wolf Lodge stay is subject to blackout dates and availability as determined by Great Wolf Lodge.

8. Winner Notification:

Potential winners will be notified via email and/or phone within approximately five (5) business days after the Contest Period ends.
Potential winners must respond to the notification within seventy-two (72) hours to claim their prize. Failure to respond within the specified time frame may result in disqualification and an alternate winner being selected.
Winners may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility, liability release and publicity release (where legal) within a specified timeframe.

9. Rights to Submitted Content:

By submitting a video, participants grant Visit Lake County a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, and create derivative works of the submitted video content (in whole or in part) for promotional, marketing, and advertising purposes in any media now known or hereafter developed, without additional compensation or notification.

10. General Conditions: * No purchase is necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. * Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Contest if fraud, technical failures, or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest. * Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected entries, which will be disqualified. * The Contest is governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, and all disputes will be resolved in the courts of Illinois. * By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Terms & Conditions and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects.

11. Privacy: All personal information collected from participants is subject to Visit Lake County’s Privacy Policy. Good luck to all participants in the Reel Lake County Challenge!