Do You Have This Year’s Most Beautiful Baby?

The search is on for Harford’s Most Beautiful Baby of 2014! Harford Family House will host the fifth annual “Celebree Presents Harford’s Most Beautiful Baby” contest. All proceeds will benefit Harford Family House, which this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary of providing transitional housing for homeless families in Harford County.

The winner of the contest will be announced at a live event on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at the Center Court of Harford Mall. The event will again feature the Mother/Daughter Look-a-Like Contest, Father/Son Look-a-Like Contest, Parent/Child Look-a-Like Contest and a Baby Crawl race in addition to the Beautiful Baby Contest. Steve from Extreme Entertainment will amuse onlookers with magic and balloon art.

“Harford Family House serves a most basic need in our community: providing shelter and support for families in need and allowing homeless families to remain intact,” says Harford Family House Executive Director Joyce Duffy. “Due to the lack of funding and resources, the number of requests Harford Family House has to turn away has increased dramatically over the years from 435 in 2011 to 775 in 2013. The Beautiful Baby Contest is a fun way to raise money for, and awareness of, Harford Family House’s vital role in our region.”

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.

Online voting on the contest website will then open on April 2 and run through April 30. Once voting has closed, the 10 entrants who have received the most votes will be announced, from which a group of judges will choose the Beautiful Baby contest winner live at the Harford Mall on May 10. Judges for this year’s contest include Dr. Jeffrey Horowitz, Debra McCollum of Jones Junction, Lance Hersh of Saxon’s Diamond Center and Karen Hensley RNC, PEDS, BSN of Upper Chesapeake Health Family Birthplace.

The top 10 entrants will be notified in advance and must be available to attend the award ceremony on May 10. This year’s grand prize winner will receive a full year of pre-school courtesy of Celebree Learning Centers, along with other prizes that include jewelry and gift certificates, for an estimated total value of $11,000. Generous prize packages will also be awarded to the second and third place Beautiful Baby contest winners as well as to winners of the other contests.

As always, the success of the Beautiful Baby event relies entirely on support from local businesses. According to Duffy, Celebree Learning Centers has signed on for the third year in a row as the title sponsor and “continues to be a fantastic partner and supporter of this event.” “We would also like to recognize our other sponsors who are supporting this year’s event, including Jones Junction, Upper Chesapeake Health, Susquehanna Bank, APGFCU and Harford Mutual Insurance Company,” says Duffy.

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.