Kaposia Days celebration, cute kid contest from Monda the Photographer in MN

As time goes on, we all get older, seasons change, and yet some things stay the same. My hometown prides itself on tradition. All of my home-townies in the City of South St. Paul will know what I’m referring to when I proudly state that this is my first year to host the “Cute Kid Photo Contest” charity fundraiser event as an “In-Kind Sponsor” of Kaposia Days (for you non South St Paul Packers, Kaposia Days is my hometown’s annual kick-ass city festival celebration, usually held around the third weekend in June). It’s pretty cool to bring my small business to my home town.

The Kaposia Days Cute Kid Contest was a concept put in place years ago by my good friend/mentor/now studio landlord, Dan Grevas, of Dan Grevas Photography. Children of all ages flocked from everywhere (not just in SSP) to get their portrait taken by Dan, and every kid would be entered into a contest platform where people would pay-per-vote (at $1 per vote) for their favorite cute kids, and in turn, Dan donates the voting dollars to a wonderful non-profit organization (also in SSP) called Neighbors, Inc.

Fast forward the clock to the year 2021…where we are coming out of a year+ long pandemic with restrictions and social distancing…I welcomed the opportunity to sponsor such an event. Big shoes to fill, 100%, but I knew I could handle the task at hand. I asked that every contestant that signed up bring in non-perishable food or pantry items to receive an extra savings on their portrait order - of course with the food donations to go to Neighbors, Inc. I had collected 80+ pounds of food/pantry items the first 2 weeks of the contest, and I have two more heaping bins full at my studio to be weighed in yet. It is super exciting!

Initially I was thinking if I got 20 kids to sign up, I’d be golden. Then I reached 20, and there was still so much time left. So I thought…ok let’s try for 30 kids. You guys answered my call…and went above and beyond, and I ended up photographing over 40 kids for my first go as the official sponsor of the Kaposia Days Cute Kid Contest! W-O-W!!

MEET THE 2021 KAPOSIA DAYS CUTE KID CANDIDATES!

When the contest started, we still had some lingering Covid-19 restrictions in place, and so, it had been decided early on that I was going to switch things up and go to an online voting platform. That way, friends and family from afar could also cast their votes for their favorite cute kid(s)…which in turn creates a larger turnout for those who cast votes, which also means more money that my studio can donate to Neighbors, Inc. (to find out more about Neighbors, Inc., click here!)

This special contest event serves several purposes, the first of course to be viewed as a FUNdraiser and donation-driver for Neighbors, Inc., but also a great way to get a new portrait of your child(ren). It could be a learning opportunity for us to teach the younger generations how important it is to give back and help others in need. Let’s face it, it feels good to be able to give back in some way - be it with a monetary donation, a food/pantry donation, or volunteering. Especially in this case - to help an organization with a mission to help others in the community. I’m proud to be a part of this, and I’m proud of all of the Cute Kid contestants who are part of this year’s event…you are all helping to make a difference for other families that need a helping hand.

My focus is not so much on who “wins” - but how many pounds of non-perishable food items and pantry items we can bring in, plus how much money can be generated with the voting portion of the contest, where I set the voting to $1 per vote. Sure, winning is part of the fun, but there are so many greater rewards than taking first place in the age categories. And I hope the kids and families that participated realize that. Every single one of these kids truly is a Cute Kid. All different personalities, young brilliant minds, each adorable in their own way. And I had the honors of photographing them for this event. The contest prizes my studio is giving away is a 16x20 print for the top contestant with the most votes of each category (valued at $250 per category), with a grand prize of a $500 studio print credit for the contestant that generated the most votes overall of all the contestants.

$1 = 1 Vote for the Cute Kid Contest

The eligible portrait sessions for the contest ended June 15. People in the community, plus friends and family of the contestants have blown me away with their response to the voting. You’re voting generously, and it has been amazing to see the votes jump, which means that is more that I am going to be giving to Neighbors, Inc.! I thank everyone who has voted so far, and I thank you in advance for those who still want to get their votes in yet. I’m super excited to see what that final number of votes will be for the donation I’ll be presenting to Neighbors, Inc.!

If you’re someone who has never participated in a Kaposia Days event before, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to take part! Voting is available now through June 25, and the “polls” close at 11:59 pm.

I plan to tally up the voting and announce the winners sometime on June 27, which is the last day of the Kaposia Days celebration.
Be sure to follow my Facebook Page Monda Goette Photography where I’ll be making the announcement!

Fondly,
Monda the Photographer