Tuesday, July 19 - 3:00 p.m.
Little Mister & Little Miss Contest
Participants
$10 per child, which must be registered in advance to participate (registrations at 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.)
Free Entertainment Pavillion
Ages 5 - 8 years; entrants may not have turned 8 years before July 1, 2011
For Questions and Information Contact
Carleigh Pankop at tel. (260) 318-2405
Pageant for personality
Kids ages 5 to 8 answer questions to be top ‘Little’
$10 per child, which must be registered in advance to participate (registrations at 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.)
Free Entertainment Pavillion
Ages 5 - 8 years; entrants may not have turned 8 years before July 1, 2011
For Questions and Information Contact
Carleigh Pankop at tel. (260) 318-2405
Pageant for personality
Kids ages 5 to 8 answer questions to be top ‘Little’
There they sat, 14 of them, in small chairs on a makeshift stage. Some smiled and waved vigorously at family members, while others loosely swung their sandaled feet back and forth. A few even looked like deer caught the white glare of headlights. But they were all subjects of three judges’ scrutinizing eyes and ears in this year’s Noble County Fair Little Miss & Little Mister Pageant on Saturday. And they were all between the ages of 5 and 8 – four boys and 10 girls.
Unlike many children’s pageants featured in TV shows, however, the point of this pageant wasn’t to decide which child was the cutest or had the best talent, coordinator Deb Robertson said. Instead, the idea was for the kids to have fun and show their personalities. Despite the pageant’s lack of emphasis on children’s appearances, little girls who are serious about competing in pageants often enter the Little Miss and Little Mister pageant, Robertson said.
“There’s always one who looks like she walked off ‘Cinderella,’ ” she said. Robertson has been coordinating the pageant for about four years, but she said the fair might have hosted the pageant periodically for at least 19 years or so.
As the pageant geared up to start, girls in cheery dresses and boys with their hair slicked back arrived with their parents. One family from Avilla had two contestants – Morgan Forker, 6, and her sister Emma, 5. The girls sat with their mother, Sarah Forker, before the pageant. Asked whether they were nervous, both nodded shyly. Their brother sat a few chairs away, but he wasn’t participating in the pageant. “I think he likes to watch,” Sarah Forker said.
With the help of master of ceremonies Carleigh Pankop, contestants introduced themselves and answered questions about themselves in front of the judges. Many nervous contestants repeated answers given by children who went before them, and others shrugged their shoulders when asked to name their favorite color, movie or book.
Taya Dazey, 7, and Trevor Alicea, 6, won the titles of Little Miss and Little Mister. Taya’s parents, Terry and Margaux Dazey, chalked Taya’s success up to being comfortable in front of an audience – she has been dancing since she was 2. Terry Dazey said that whether Taya would participate in future pageants was up to her, but he said he’s seen the TV shows on pageants in which parents push their children to the limits. “You watch that and you think, geez oh pete,” he said.
Although some children repeated answers and shrugged at others, Pankop said she enjoyed herself.“I thought it went very well,” she said. “I just like it because I like talking to all the kids.”
Published: July 19, 2009 The Journal Gazette, KENDALLVILLE, by Kaitlin Shawgo
Unlike many children’s pageants featured in TV shows, however, the point of this pageant wasn’t to decide which child was the cutest or had the best talent, coordinator Deb Robertson said. Instead, the idea was for the kids to have fun and show their personalities. Despite the pageant’s lack of emphasis on children’s appearances, little girls who are serious about competing in pageants often enter the Little Miss and Little Mister pageant, Robertson said.
“There’s always one who looks like she walked off ‘Cinderella,’ ” she said. Robertson has been coordinating the pageant for about four years, but she said the fair might have hosted the pageant periodically for at least 19 years or so.
As the pageant geared up to start, girls in cheery dresses and boys with their hair slicked back arrived with their parents. One family from Avilla had two contestants – Morgan Forker, 6, and her sister Emma, 5. The girls sat with their mother, Sarah Forker, before the pageant. Asked whether they were nervous, both nodded shyly. Their brother sat a few chairs away, but he wasn’t participating in the pageant. “I think he likes to watch,” Sarah Forker said.
With the help of master of ceremonies Carleigh Pankop, contestants introduced themselves and answered questions about themselves in front of the judges. Many nervous contestants repeated answers given by children who went before them, and others shrugged their shoulders when asked to name their favorite color, movie or book.
Taya Dazey, 7, and Trevor Alicea, 6, won the titles of Little Miss and Little Mister. Taya’s parents, Terry and Margaux Dazey, chalked Taya’s success up to being comfortable in front of an audience – she has been dancing since she was 2. Terry Dazey said that whether Taya would participate in future pageants was up to her, but he said he’s seen the TV shows on pageants in which parents push their children to the limits. “You watch that and you think, geez oh pete,” he said.
Although some children repeated answers and shrugged at others, Pankop said she enjoyed herself.“I thought it went very well,” she said. “I just like it because I like talking to all the kids.”
Published: July 19, 2009 The Journal Gazette, KENDALLVILLE, by Kaitlin Shawgo