Rules

AQUASCAPE WATER FEATURE and YARD MAKEOVER GIVEAWAY CONTEST

OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND NECESSARY TO ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. THE CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO PERSONS WHO ARE, AT THE TIME OF ENTRY, LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OR CANADA AND OF LEGAL AGE WHERE THEY RESIDE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

1.         ELIGIBILITY:

The “Aquascape Water Feature and Yard Makeover Giveaway Contest” (“Contest”) is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia or Canada who have reached the age of majority in the state, province, or district of their residence at the time of entry. Employees, directors, officers, and representatives of Aquascape Design Inc., Aquascape Content Community and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, owners, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, representatives, employees, advertising and Contest agencies, wholesale distributors, retail licensees, all other service or governmental agencies involved with the Contest, and their employees and members of their immediate families (spouse, parent, child or sibling; whether biological, adopted, step, or in-law) or households (whether related or not) are not eligible to participate. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited. Participation constitutes participant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules (“Official Rules”) and Sponsor’s and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to this Contest. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements as set forth herein.

2.         CONTEST ENTRY PERIOD:

Contest begins at 9:00:01 a.m. Central Time (“CT”) on July 13, 2025, and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. Central Time (“CT”) on December 31, 2025. (“Contest Entry Period”)

3.         PHASE ONE – ENTER THE CONTEST

How to Enter:

(a)        Internet: During the Contest Entry Period, visit www.AOTYgiveaway.com (“Website”) and follow the online instructions to complete the online entry form. Follow the online instructions for sharing and posting your entry to various social media platforms.

(b)        Facebook: During the Contest Entry Period, look for Contest posts from Sponsor (identified in Section 13) and Artists of the Year (identified in Section 14) inviting followers to enter for a chance to win a prize. To enter, follow the instructions on these

 Contest posts. You will be redirected to www.aotygiveaway.com (also a “Website”). Follow the online instructions to complete the online entry form.

You must be a registered user of Facebook and follow Aquascape Inc. on Facebook to enter the Contest via Facebook. Facebook registration is free and can be obtained by logging on to ***facebook.com and following the online instructions to open an account.

(c)        Instagram: During the Contest Entry Period, look for Contest posts from the Sponsor and Artists of the Year inviting followers to enter for a chance to win a prize. To enter, follow the instructions on these Contest posts. You will be redirected to www.aotygiveaway.com (also a “Website”). Follow the online instructions to complete the online entry form.

You must be a registered user of Instagram and follow Aquascape Inc. on Instagram to enter the Contest via Instagram. Instagram registration is free and can be obtained by logging on to ***instagram.com and following the online instructions to open an account.

(d)        YouTube: During the Contest Entry Period, look for Contest posts from the Sponsor and Artists of the Year inviting followers to enter for a chance to win a prize. To enter, follow the instructions on these Contest posts. You will be redirected to www.aotygiveaway.com (also a “Website”). Follow the online instructions to complete the online entry form.

For All Entries:

See Appendix A for additional Entry Guidelines & Prohibited Content.

Entry must comply with these Official Rules. Limit one (1) entry per person and per email address. Multiple entries submitted by the same person or email address will be void. Sponsor reserves the right to review any Entry for violation of these Official Rules and may, at its sole discretion, reject, delete, or otherwise exclude an Entry for any reason, including without limitation, if the Entry contains any Prohibited Content (as defined in Appendix A) or any other commentary or material which Sponsor, in its sole discretion deems inappropriate.

All Entries must be received and recorded by the deadline of Phase One: Contest Entry Period. Only the methods of entry described herein are valid. No other forms of Entry are valid. To be valid, each Entry must comply with all of these Official Rules.

Automated Entries are prohibited, and any use of automated devices will cause disqualification. Entrants may not enter with multiple email addresses nor use any other device or artifice to enter multiple times or as multiple entrants. Any entrant who attempts to enter with multiple email addresses under multiple identities or uses any device or artifice to register multiple times will be disqualified and forfeits all prizes won, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same email address. Should multiple users of the same email account enter the Contest, and a dispute thereafter arise regarding the identity of the entrant, the authorized account holder of said email account at the time of entry will be considered an entrant and must comply with these Official Rules. The authorized account subscriber is the natural person who is assigned the email address by the ISP or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses. Potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account subscriber.

If entering with a mobile phone or other web-enabled device and using your wireless carrier’s network, standard data charges from your wireless carrier may apply. Check with your wireless service provider for details on these and any other applicable charges. Entrants are solely responsible for any such wireless charges.

4.         PHASE TWO: EARN POINTS

A point is earned through social media interactions. Contestants will receive points for liking posts, following channels and profiles, sharing posts, making comments, and engaging with the various Artists of the Years’ social profiles. Each social interaction is worth one point.

The twelve (12) individuals that tally the most points as of the end of the Contest Entry Period through social media interactions described above will be deemed the finalists.

The odds of advancing through Phase Two as a finalist will depend on the number of entries received by each Artist of the Year’s social media profile and the points collected by each contestant.

Finalists will be notified using the e-mail address attached to their entry form. The 11 Finalists will advance to Phase Three.

5.         PHASE THREE: VIDEO SUBMISSION AND FINAL JUDGING

Between January 1, 2026, and January 18, 2026, each of the 12 Finalists will be asked to submit a short two to five-minute video or short essay detailing why they should win the water feature and yard makeover prize.

Judging Period will take place between January 19, 2026, and January 28, 2026.

All submissions will be reviewed by the judging panel. Finalists will be judged based on the Contest judging criteria below (“Contest Judging Criteria”) by a panel of Contest judges (“Contest Judges”). The Contest Judges will be comprised of three members of the Aquascape Content Community team and one representative from each of the past Aquascape Designs Inc. Artist of the Year winners.

All Finalist Entries will be judged on the following Contest Judging Criteria with equal weight given to each:

• Creativity and originality of Entry.

 ii.        How well the Entry illustrates “Living the Aquascape Lifestyle ®” and “why you would like a water feature and a yard makeover,” and

iii.        Appropriateness of the Entry to be used in connection with the Aquascape brand.

Any submitted entries containing inappropriate content of any kind or that are deemed to not be in keeping with Sponsor’s image will be disqualified. Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right to declare non-qualified entries (those that are plagiarized, created under false pretenses or with false statements, show obvious lack of effort, contain incomplete, inapplicable, or inappropriate content, etc. or that are otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules as determined by Sponsor or Administrator in their sole discretion) ineligible.

The one (1) Finalist receiving the highest cumulative score awarded by the Contest Judges will be deemed the conditional Grand Prize Winner, subject to satisfaction of all conditions set forth in Section 6. In the event of a tie, tied Entries will be re-judged by the panel of Contest Judges based on the Contest Judging Criteria stated above until the tie is broken. The decisions of the Contest Judges are final in all aspects of the Contest.

6.         PHASE FOUR: WINNER NOTIFICATION AND CONDITIONS TO AWARD:

Between January 31, 2026, and February 4, 2026, the conditional Grand Prize winner will be notified via email from Administrator and will be required to complete and submit an online winner verification within seventy-two (72) hours of the date and time the initial notification is sent to the potential winner.

Alternate Winner Selection: If a selected winner forfeits the prize or does not respond within the timeframe, the Sponsor will attempt to award the prize to an alternate winner, continuing the process up to five (5) alternate winners. If the prize remains unclaimed after the sixth (6th) selected winner forfeits, the prize will not be awarded. Any alternate conditional winner selected will also be required to respond to the notification within seventy-two (72) hours.

Conditional Grand Prize Winner will be required to provide their Social Security number, to be issued an IRS 1099-MISC tax form for the retail value of the prize won. Grand Prize winner agrees to receive the IRS 1099-MISC form via email, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the terms of these Official Rules.

If Sponsor so elects, the conditional Grand Prize Winner may be required to submit to a confidential background check. Such background check may include (but is not limited to) investigation of criminal, sexual offenses, or other arrest or conviction record, and any other factor deemed relevant by the Sponsor to help ensure that the conditional Grand Prize Winner will not bring the Sponsor into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, or ridicule or reflect unfavorably on the Sponsor. If requested, the conditional Grand Prize winner agrees to sign waiver forms authorizing the release of personal and background information. In the event of noncompliance, to be determined at the sole discretion of Sponsor, the prize will be forfeited and will be awarded to an alternate Grand Prize Winner to be determined as described above.

            In the event of noncompliance within any of these time periods, the prize will be forfeited, and an alternate conditional Grand Prize Winner will be determined as described above. Any alternate conditional Grand Prize Winner selected will also be required to adhere to the time periods described herein. Any prize notification or prize returned to the Sponsor or its agencies as undeliverable will result in disqualification and the awarding of that prize to an alternate conditional Grand Prize winner, to be determined as described above.

The Released Parties (as defined in Section No. 9) are not responsible for suspended or discontinued internet access, wireless, or land-line phone service or change in an entrant’s email, phone number, mailing address, or social media account which may result in a potential winner not receiving initial prize notification of his/her prize information.

The conditional Grand Prize Winner will be announced on or around January 31, 2026, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules.

7          PRIZE DETAILS:

One (1) Grand Prize: Winner will receive a makeover of the space depicted in their finalist entry video. This makeover will consist of a water feature designed to fit the space, hardscaping (including patio and stonework) and a wooden structure (such as a deck, gazebo, benches, or pergola) and two-year (2) free maintenance for the water feature.

Retail Value of the Grand Prize is up to $200,000.00 Final prize value will be determined after design consultation. Grand Prize, value not to exceed $200,000. If the winner cannot accept the prize as specified, the prize will be forfeited and will be awarded to an alternate winner.

One (1) second-place winner will receive an Aquascape DIY Pond Kit. 

One (1) third-place winner will receive an Aquascape Fountain Kit. 

No Cash Value: Prizes are non-transferable and have no cash value. No cash or other substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize becomes unavailable. Grand Prize winner will be solely responsible for all federal, state, and/or local taxes, and for any other fees or costs associated with the prizes they receive.

8          LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE:

Aquascape Design Inc., Administrator, Artists of the Year, and each of their respective affiliates, and each of their respective employees, shareholders, officers, directors, subsidiaries, members, successors, assigns, and agencies (collectively the “Released Parties”) are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, unintelligible, returned or undelivered entries, telephone calls, text messages, email, or for lost, interrupted or unavailable satellite, network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), Website, or other connections availability, accessibility or traffic congestion, miscommunications, failed computer, network, telephone, satellite or cable hardware or software or lines, or technical failure, or jumbled, scrambled, delayed or misdirected transmissions, computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic or network. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of this Contest or Website, or act in violation of the Official Rules, or act in any manner to threaten or abuse or harass any person, or violate Website’s terms of service, as solely determined by the Sponsor or Administrator, will be disqualified. Released Parties are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information whether caused by Website users, tampering, hacking, or by any of the programming or equipment associated with or used in this Contest, and assume no responsibility for any errors, omission, deletion, interruption or delay in operation or transmission or communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized website access. Any use of robotic, macro, automatic, programmed or like entry methods will void all such entries and may subject that entrant to disqualification. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to the participant's or any other person’s computer, or property related to or resulting from participating in this Contest. Should any portion of the contest be, in the Sponsor’s or Administrator’s sole opinion, compromised by viruses, worms, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair administration, security, fairness or proper play of this Contest, or submission of entries, Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest, and select the winner from valid entries received prior to action taken, or otherwise as may be deemed fair and equitable by the Sponsor. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of an entrant, the authorized subscriber of the email address, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube Account used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant and must comply with these rules. The authorized account subscriber is the natural person who is assigned the email address, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube Account by the ISP or other organization responsible for assigning the email address, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube Account. All materials submitted become the property of Aquascape Content Community and will not be returned.

Entrants agree (a) that Sponsor, Administrator, Artists of the Year, and their respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliated companies, and advertising and Contest agencies, and their respective officers, directors, employees, wholesale distributors, representatives and agents, will have no liability whatsoever for, and are released and shall be held harmless by entrants against, any liability, for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind, to persons, including death, or property, or rights of publicity or privacy, defamation, copyright infringement or portrayal in a false light resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of the prize or participation in this Contest or in any Contest-related activity, and (b) winner, by acceptance of prize, except where legally prohibited, grants permission for Sponsor (and agrees to confirm such agreement in writing) and those acting pursuant to its authority to use his/her name, submitted biography, voice and/or likeness and prize information, and/or Entry (and assign the Entry, which may be altered, changed, modified, edited, used alone or with other works, as solely determined by Sponsor) for advertising, trade and Contest purposes without further compensation, at any times or time, in all media now known or hereafter discovered worldwide and on the Internet without notice or review or approval.

9.         PUBLICITY AND COPYRIGHT LICENSE:

You grant Sponsor an exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, unrestricted, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferrable right and license to exploit your Entry including, without limitation, your name and likeness and the names and likenesses of any and all persons in the Entry, and any intellectual property rights (e.g. copyright, trademark, etc.) contained in the Entry in any media now or hereafter known, without any payment or other consideration of any kind, or permission or notification, to you or any third party, for any purpose, including, without limitation, your Entry and any person’s property (physical, personal, intellectual property rights, and indicia) contained therein. The foregoing grant includes, without limitation, the right to reproduce, display, distribute, publicly perform, create derivative works of, alter, amend, broadcast, edit, publish, use, merchandise, license, sublicense, and adapt the Entry in any and all media now or hereafter known, throughout the world, for any purpose, whether commercial in nature or otherwise, including in contexts and circumstances that result in your Entry being associated with a particular Sponsor or Sponsors. Accordingly, you hereby waive any objection to, such use including without limitation, distribution, reproduction, creation of derivative works of, public performance, or display of your Entry, and any claim for compensation whatsoever in connection therewith. Such waiver shall include any claim for infringement of any so-called “Moral Right,” “Droit Moral” or similar right or interest.

Unless otherwise stated, the Sponsor is granted the right to use the likeness of any minors associated with the Grand Prize Winner. If the Grand Prize Winner wishes to exclude any minor’s likeness from use, they must provide the Sponsor with a written notice specifying the names of the individuals whose likeness should not be used.

10.       DISPUTE RESOLUTION:

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant, Administrator, and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, or any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you, Administrator, and Sponsor, shall be resolved by binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Illinois without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules. The place of arbitration shall be St. Charles, IL.

11.       PRIVACY POLICY:

The information you submit in connection with this Contest may be used by Sponsor and Administrator for purposes of administration and fulfillment of the Contest, and   in   accordance   with   Sponsor’s   privacy   policy   located   at

https://www.aquascapeinc.com/privacy-policy (also a “Website”). If you are verified as a prize winner, your first name, last initial, city and state will be included in a publicly available winner’s list.

12.       OFFICIAL RULES:

The Official Rules of the Contest are available for viewing at www.aotygiveaway.com during the Contest Period.

13.       SPONSOR:

Aquascape Content Community, LLC.., 901 Aqualand Way, St. Charles. IL.

14.       ARTISTS OF THE YEAR (Prior Year Winners/Participants)

15.       ADMINISTRATOR:

Aquascape Content Community, LLC.., 901 Aqualand Way, St. Charles. IL.

16.       WINNER’S LIST:

For the name of the Grand Prize winner, send a standard-size postcard, only, with your return address to:

Water Feature and Yard Makeover

Atten: Marketing

901 Aqualand Way

St. Charles, IL 60174

This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, or X. Any questions, comments or complaints regarding this Contest shall be directed to Sponsor and not to Facebook, Instagram, or X.

APPENDIX A

ENTRY GUIDELINES & PROHIBITED CONTENT

Entries must meet the following requirements:

•          Entry cannot defame, misrepresent, or contain disparaging remarks about Sponsor or its products, or other people, products or companies or communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill to which Sponsor wishes to associate.

•          Sponsor shall have full right and power to copy, publish, broadcast, display, distribute, use, edit, translate, alter, combine with other material, reuse and adapt any or all portions of the Entry in any way and for any purpose whatsoever, at any time, now or in the future, in any media now known or hereafter devised throughout the World in any manner whatsoever and for any purpose.

•          Entry cannot (a) be sexually explicit or suggestive, violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group, profane or pornographic, contain nudity or any materially dangerous activity; (b) promote the excessive or irresponsible consumption of alcohol, or promote illegal use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous or any particular political agenda or message; (c) be obscene or offensive, endorse any form of hate or hate group;

(d) contain an image of any minor without release; (e) contain trademarks, logos or trade dress owned by others, or advertise or promote any brand or product of any kind (other than those of Aquascape Content Community), without permission, or contain any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, email addresses or street addresses; (g) contain copyrighted materials owned by others without permission; (h) contain materials embodying the names, likenesses or other indicia identifying any person, living or dead, without permission; (I) refer to or depict any names, logos or readily recognizable features of a retailer of alcohol beverages (such as a grocery store, convenience store, restaurant, bar, or any other retail location that sells alcohol beverages);or (j) depict, and cannot itself be in, violation of any law.

•          Each entrant warrants and represents that the Entry: (a) is his/her original work, published; (b) has not received previous awards; and (c) does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity;

•          Any entrant whose Entry includes likenesses of third parties or contains elements not owned by the entrant (such as, but not limited to, depictions of persons, buildings, trademarks, or logos) must be able to provide legal releases for such use including Sponsor’s use of such Entry, in a form satisfactory to Sponsor, upon request, prior to award of prize and/or naming of entrant as a Winner.

•          Any Entry that, in the sole opinion of Sponsor, is not in accordance with the guidelines as stated herein or on the Website or is deemed to be inappropriate for publication is ineligible.

•          Incomplete, illegible, deceptive, or garbled Entries are not eligible.

•          Any such entrant will indemnify and hold harmless, Sponsor from any claims to the contrary.

By submitting an Entry, you agree that your Entry is gratuitous and made without restriction, that it will not place Sponsor under any obligation other than as stated in these Official Rules, that Sponsor is free to publish or otherwise disclose the ideas contained in the Entry on a non-confidential basis to anyone or otherwise use the ideas without any additional compensation to you. You acknowledge that, by acceptance of your Entry, Sponsor does not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to Sponsor or developed by its employees or obtained from sources other than you.

By participating, you acknowledge that your Entry may be used in Sponsor's sole discretion. Entries are the views/opinions of the individual entrant and do not reflect the views of the Sponsor in any manner. By entering, you acknowledge that Sponsor has no obligation to use or post any Entry you submit.