NORTH WEBSTER – Eighty-one kids from all over Indiana – and one from Florida – took part in the 72nd Annual Mermaid Festival Cutie Parade Wednesday evening in North Webster.
With the theme of “Storybook Land,” the children and their families and friends opened up the pages of their favorite books for their floats and costumes.
Several chose “Alice in Wonderland,” a few chose “Where the Wild Things Are” and a few more chose “The Wizard of Oz.” There was only one “Harry Potter,” one “Pinocchio” and only one “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
There are three units in the parade – handdrawn (23 participants this year), motorized (11) and walking (47). They are judged on creativity, originality and theme.
There is scholarship money for first through fourth place in each unit. The scholarships are given by the Shoop Foundation. First place in each unit gets $5,000; second place, $2,500; third place, $1,500; and fourth place in each unit gets $1,000.
Winners will not be announced until the cutie pageant Friday. Any child in the cutie pageant was required to be in the cutie parade, but the parade is open to children 14 and under. The pageant Friday is only for children 4 to 6 years old.
There were three judges for each unit for a total of nine judges
