Sakura Color Products Corporation (株式会社サクラクレパス, Kabushiki-gaisha Sakura Kurepasu) is a Japanese manufacturing company headquartered in Morinomiya-chūō, Chūō-ku, Osaka, which produces a variety of stationery products as well a wide range of art materials.

[2][3] In 1984, Sakura invented the first gel-based ink, featured in its new ballpoint pens lines.

[1] The North-American division of the company, "Sakura Color Products of America, Inc." was established in Hayward, California in 1986.

The contest is open to all U.S. students grades K through 8 to create a picture that is drawn mostly with oil pastels, preferably Cray-Pas.

[5][6] There have been 17,000 submissions each year with winning entries displayed online and some have been published in printed material.