Harford Family House, SARC Seek “Harford’s Most Beautiful Baby”

From Harford Family House and SARC:

[Bel Air, MD] January 24, 2013—The search is on for Harford’s Most Beautiful Baby of 2013! This year, Harford Family House and SARC will again team up to host the fourth annual “Celebree Presents Harford’s Most Beautiful Baby” contest, with all proceeds benefitting the two area non-profits that primarily provide services to local women and children. The winner will be announced at a live event on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at the Harford Mall.

Back by popular demand, this year’s event will again feature a Mother/Daughter Look-a-Like Contest, a Father/Son Look-a-Like Contest and a Baby Crawl race in addition to the Beautiful Baby Contest and a new Parent/Child Look-a-Like event. These events will be held at the Center Court of Harford Mall with activities scheduled throughout the day.

This year, the entry process for the Beautiful Baby contest has been improved to ensure all entries receive equal voting time. To enter, parents must submit a non-professional photograph of their newborn through 18-month-old and a $25 entry fee between March 1 and March 31. Entries can be submitted online, at all Harford County Celebree Learning Centers or by mailing a photo, entry form and check to Harford Family House at 53 E. Bel Air Avenue, Suite 3, Aberdeen, MD, 21001. All checks should be made payable to Harford Family House. No entries will be accepted after March 31.

Voting will then open on April 1 and run through April 30. Once voting has closed, the top 10 highest vote-getters on the photo contest website will be announced, from which a group of judges will choose the Beautiful Baby contest winner at the Harford Mall on May 11. Returning judges from last year’s contest include Sandi Linkous of Merle Norman Salon and Spa; Debra McCollum of Jones Junction; and Karen Hensley RNC-PEDS, BSN of Upper Chesapeake Health – Family Birthplace.

The top vote-getters will be notified in advance and must be available to attend the award ceremony on May 11, at which the grand prize winner will be announced. Among other prizes, this year’s grand prize winner will receive a full year of pre-school courtesy of Celebree Learning Centers. While the specifics of this year’s event are still being finalized, last year’s winner received a prize package valued at $11,000, and numerous participants received other prizes including cash, jewelry and gift certificates. New this year, generous prize packages will also be awarded to the second and third place Beautiful Baby contest winners.

According to Harford Family House executive director Joyce Duffy, the Beautiful Baby event relies entirely on support from local businesses, and organizers are currently soliciting sponsors and donations to make this year’s event as successful as last year’s. “We are especially grateful to Celebree for signing on for the second year in a row as our title sponsor for the event. They have been a fantastic partner and we look forward to working with them to make this year’s event bigger and better than ever,” says Duffy. “We would also like to thank our other sponsors who have signed on to support this year’s event, including Growing Smiles, APGFCU and Susquehanna Bank.”

To enter any of the contests, become a sponsor or find out more about Harford’s Most Beautiful Baby activities, visit the event website at www.harfordbaby.org.