King And Queen Crowned At Mermaid Festival Cutie Contest
NORTH WEBSTER — One of the highlights of the annual Mermaid Festival is the coronation of its Cutie King and Queen. This year, 35 young ladies and 16 young men vied for the chance to become part of the festival history, hoping to be named the 69th recipients of the honor, which dates back to the first competition in 1950.
Receiving the crowns in this year’s contest were Brynn VanLaeken, 6, daughter of Michael and Cheryl VanLaeken of Kimmell, and Oskar Moreno-Elst, 4, son of Ignacio and Katie Moreno-Elst of Detroit, Mich. They were chosen by a panel of six judges on a variety of attributes, including poise, behavior on stage, clothing and attitude, among other elements.
All of the contestants in the group were brought out onto the stage inside the North Webster Community Center in small groups. The judges then assigned scores to each contestant. Following the final group of children, the scores were tallied to determine the winners. This year’s judges included Andrew Anderson, Goshen; Laurie Sedlmeyer, Monroeville; Julie Luther, Fort Wayne; Leland Roberson, Columbia City; Tracey Williams, Bourbon; and Jeanette Keim, Hot Springs Village, Ark.
The top four contestants for each title were eventually brought back on to the stage with their final placings announced in reverse order.
Among the young ladies, the first runner-up was Mariah Williams, 4, North Webster; second runner-up Aiyanna Birks, 4, Dayton, Ohio; and third runner-up Marlie Walcott, 6, Warsaw.
In the contest for king, the first runner-up was Zane Grady, 5, Syracuse; second runner-up Carter Deters, 5, North Webster; and third-runner up Brantley Jasso, 5, Millersburg.
Also announced were the winners in the cutie parade competition. The parade was held in North Webster on Wednesday, June 19.
In the walking division, first place went to Jensen Lovely, second place Marlie Walcott, third place McKinley Murphy and fourth place Brynn VanLaeken.
In the hand drawn division, JD Kimmel earned top honors, second place Amelia Beer, third place Colton Nabinger and fourth place Kenlee Grady.
In the motorized division, first place was awarded to Hadley Granger, second place Zane Grady, third place Hazel Sedlmeyer and fourth place Cambrie Garden.
Serving as emcee for the evening’s ceremony was North Webster resident and 1966 North Webster High School graduate Phil Metcalf, who opened the event by asking for a moment of silence for Gidieon Cook, the 2016 Cutie King who was tragically killed in an accident earlier this month in Warsaw.
Also assisting at the event were 2018 Queen of Lakes Mikala Mawhorter, along with her court princesses Kirstin Knox, Lauren Brown and Madison Fisher. They were joined onstage by 2009 Cutie Queen Chloe Laird and 2009 Cutie King Kyle Gilchrist.
Last year’s Cutie Contest King and Queen Trevor Roberts, Syracuse, and Nilah Moreno-Elst, Detroit, Mich., also were recognized during the event.
The Shoop Sports and Youth Foundation on North Webster provides $50,000 in scholarships to winners of the various competitions at the festival, including the Cutie Contest and Queen of Lakes competition, which will be held at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, Saturday, June 22, at the North Webster Community Center.