With much fanfare, beer and glitter, the Massillon Art Battle drew to a close on Saturday, July 30, as Michael Skaggs bested Bili Kribbs in the final fight of the months-long event. Like previous battles, this one drew a huge crowd to Bender’s in downtown Massillon — a sign that this may be the beginning of an annual affair. The hour-long battle on Saturday was presided over by the biggest celebrity judge to date: Honorable Judge Edward Elum of the Massillon municipal court. The judge, alongside the two regular judges, determined the theme for the night’s battle: law and order. Ultimately, Skaggs’s black-and-white piece with dark themes won out over Kribbs’s brighter acrylic painting, finished with a blast from a homemade glitter cannon. The fight took place concurrently with an auction of all the pieces made during the battle, including the two final pieces. (In fact, the judge later purchased Kribbs’s final piece.) Part of the auction’s proceeds went to local charities. As the winner, Skaggs is entitled to a one-man art show at the Studio M gallery in the Massillon Museum, as well as a one-year membership there. The show, courtesy of Museum curator Alexandra Nicholis, will run for a full month starting in mid-December. Ryan Lynn, the local artist and Buzzbin cartoonist who organized the event, was pleased with the judges’ decision. “I was really happy with the turnout. Mike’s a great guy,” he said. “Bili’s a great guy, but he’s really well-known. I think with the gallery show, it’ll really shed some light on Mike as a great, if lesser known, artist.” The overwhelmingly positive response to the art battle has led to talk of passing the torch on to new organizers next year, making it an annual occurrence. Lynn couldn’t be happier about that. “I’m absolutely ecstatic,” he said. “I’m happy that I’ve left my mark on the Stark arts scene. I look forward to seeing how next year’s battle plays out.”