Lack of Pageant Participants Worries Mint Fest Organizers

Posted on April 22, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

Mint Festival Organizer Donna Henry shared some concerns about a lack of participation in the annual pageant at last week’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

She said even after holding three sign-ups, there were only a couple of people registered and there weren’t any queen candidates at all. With the registration deadline approaching at the end of this month, Henry said organizers are worried the pageant may have to be canceled.

She mentioned that some adjustments were made to this year’s pageant with the hopes of accommodating participants.

Henry explained, “We eliminated the fundraiser this year. We increased the registration fee a little bit to kind of offset that because a lot of times they didn’t want to do the fundraiser and so we were trying for things to encourage them.”

Registration for Mint Darlings is $10 and it costs $40 to sign up for the Mint Festival King and Queen Pageant. Candidate sponsorship is encouraged.

A sign-up day was held at the Henry F. Schricker Library last week so there’s a chance more participants have registered since this information was provided at last Monday’s town council meeting.

There will be additional chances to register at the North Judson Public Library from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. tomorrow on Tuesday, April 23rd and next week on Tuesday, April 30th.

This is an opportunity open to any child who attends a Starke County school or lives within the county. Henry noted that cash prizes will be provided to the winners.

Newborn babies and kids between the ages of 1 and 4 can participate in the Mint Darlings Pageant.

Children between the ages of 5 and 15 are eligible for the Little Miss and Mister portion of the Mint Festival Pageant and those who fall in the 16 to 20 range can run for Mint Fest King and Queen.

The last day to sign up is Tuesday, April 30th.

Henry mentioned that people can contact her directly to inquire about pageant registration by calling 219-395-6504. Additional information can be found on the 2019 Mint Festival facebook page.