Baby Contest

Come sign up your little ones for the Baby Contest! Online Registration and Voting is handled by Root for Kids.

Contest Rules and Regulations

1. The contest is open to boys and girls ages 1 month to 24 months residing in Washington County. Children will be judged by age groups. The applying child must be 24 months or younger as of Saturday, April 20, 2024.
2. At least one parent must be a resident of Washington County.
3. Registration fee is $10. All contestants will receive a Washington County Fair Baby Contest T-Shirt and an Activity Book.
4. Registration will close on Friday, March 29 at 5:00pm. Applications and photos must be submitted by this deadline. Applications missing photos will not be added to the contest. Please email one photo of your child to baby@washcofair.net.
   1. Tips for your photo submission:
      1. Avoid photos that have heavy filters, text or graphics
      2. Make sure your child is clothed
      3. Use good lighting, generally natural light is best
      4. Make sure your baby is the main subject of the photo and is in focus
      5. Be creative and showcase your child’s personality

Contest Judging Information

The contest will be divided into three phases:

• 1. Phase I – Preliminary (April 2 – April 3)
  • Root for Kids Committee will select the Top 20 contestants of each age group based on the online application and the submitted photograph
  • Root for Kids Committee will notify the Top 20 contestants they are moving on to Phase II for the online voting phase by April 5 at 5:00 PM
• 2. Phase II – Online Voting (April 8 – April 12)
  • The photos will be added to the Washington County website for online public voting. Voting will end April 12 at 2:00 PM
  • The Top 5 contestants of each age group will be selected based on the number of votes their photo received from the public voting
  • The Top 5 contestants of each age group will be notified via email by 5:00 PM on April 17 and will be invited to participate in-person for Phase III
• 3. Phase III – Final Day (April 20)
  • Contestants will be in-person with the contest judges for the final phase and will wear their Washington County baby contest t-shirt. Contestants will be separated into four groups.
  • Schedule of presentations:
    • Group 1 (Ages 1-6 months) – 10:30 AM
    • Group 2 (Ages 7-12 months) – 11:00 AM
    • Group 3 (Ages 13-18 months) – 11:30 AM
    • Group 4 (Ages 19-24 months) – 12:00 PM
  • During the judging process, each contestant will take turns interacting with the contest judges. They will draw from a list of questions and prompts to learn a little more about your child and to see more of their personality. Some examples of what they may ask you and your child are: to sing their favorite song, or share what makes your child laugh, etc.
  • Each contestant & one parent will have up to 5 minutes to respond and interact with the judges. It will be important that the child is fully clothed during your individual time interacting with the judges. We do understand little ones at this age are happiest when they are free to move around as they please. This will be taken into account and will not work against you. Contestants will be judged on cuteness, personality and interaction
  • During each separate group, after each child for that age group has had time interacting with the judges, the judges will take a few minutes to deliberate and then they will announce the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place winners. They will do this separately for each age group. Later, we will share the winners on the Washington County Fair Facebook page using the photos you originally submitted
  • 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd places of each age group will receive a trophy and a cash premium.
    • 1st Place: $100
    • 2nd Place: $50
    • 3rd Place: $25