CLEARFIELD – It’s time for all proud parents to register their little ones for the 2008 CAST Most Beautiful Baby Contest at the Riverfront Festival. As always, the Riverfront Festival will be held at Clearfield’s lovely Lower Witmer Park. The dates for this year’s Festival are June 5, 6, and 7.
“The Most Beautiful Baby Contest has been a part of CAST for many years,” a CAST spokesperson said. “There are other groups who have begun holding baby contests in the past few years but Musically Yours., a Clearfield based song and dance group who rehearsed at CAST and who performed nationally, did it for years and then years ago gave it to CAST to continue. Obviously, a group that deals in the arts, entertainment and culture is the perfect group to conduct a Most Beautiful Baby Contest.”
Any child between the ages of birth through 36 months is eligible to enter. Registration remains at just $3.00. To enter the contest, the child’s photo should be put on a 13 ounce decorated coffee can (or similar size can) and the child’s name written on the can where it can be seen. This allows friends and relatives who maybe haven’t seen the child for a while to vote.
The can may be decorated any way the parent wishes but CAST requests no photos on sticks since this blocks the view of other baby cans. “We want this contest to be fair to everyone,” said Sue Loffredi, who is in charge of the contest. If parents wish to enter twins, then each twin would need his or her own can. CAST requests those entering the contest to please make sure the lid can be taken off the cans without disturbing the decorations because all money is removed from the cans and counted each night.
The first, second, and third place winners (the three who have the most money in the cans) will each receive a beautiful engraved trophy and the parents of the winners will receive tickets to opening night of the CAST production of the musical Little Shop of Horrors.
Registration for the contest will be held at the CAST office at 112 E. Locust Street in downtown Clearfield (use side door please) during business hours (Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) until the festival opens and then at the Most Beautiful Baby Contest Booth at the festival.
“We have kids come and put in their quarters and grandparents come and put in bills,” said Loffredi. “And every year people ask us if it’s okay to take the can around to friends and neighbors before they register it and we tell them that’s fine,” said Loffredi. ‘Another questions they ask is if the child has to be a resident of
this area and the answer is no. If relatives want to enter a child from out of the area, that’s fine as long as it’s okay with the parents.”
The Most Beautiful Baby Contest is a benefit for CAST. All proceeds from the contest go to help CAST continue it’s many entertainment events and cultural activities.
Voting in the contest will end at 8 pm on Saturday evening at which time the results will be tallied and the winners will be announced. The winners do not need to be present and will be notified by phone.
For more information on CAST, visit the Web site.