Join us for the Mattoon Bagelfest Baby Contest on Tuesday, July 16th, at the Rural King Event Center in the Cross County Mall!

You will want to park on the south side of the mall, and enter the Event Center using the entrance inside the mall. The contest is full, but come out and cheer on your favorite contestant. The newborn to almost 1 year-olds will start at 6pm, followed by 1 to almost 2 year-olds. At 7pm, the 2 to almost 3 year-olds take the stage, followed by 3 to 4 year-olds.

New this year at the Bagelfest Baby Contest, you can get your photo taken with the Bagelfest Queens! Thanks to Grassy Greetings, we will have a display set up for photos! The 2024 Bagelfest queens will be there to take photos with you from 5:30pm to 6pm, and 6:30m to 7pm. Don’t forget your phone (or camera) to take photos!

We will also have the St. Jude People’s Prince and Princess contest. You can make a donation that night in honor of your favorite contestant (1 penny = 1 vote)… we take coins, cash and checks payable to St. Jude. The Mattoon to Peoria St. Jude runners will be there to take your donations (and count them for you!) We’ll announce the Prince and Princess winners on Wednesday, July 17th!

The annual Mattoon Bagelfest Baby Contest is sponsored in part by Original Burger King in Mattoon, Holey Moley Daylight Donuts, Grassy Greetings, Mattoon Flower Shop, Rural King, Cross County Mall, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Lender’s Bagels, Thomas’, and Mattoon Tourism, along with 101.3 WMCI, 92.1 The Axe, Victory 103.9 and 104.3 The Party!