Shown are (front row) William Kiehl, second runner-up and best costume; Braxten Seman, first runner-up; Carson Bryant, Prince; Sunny Peeples, Princess, best costume and best float; Natalie Rank, first runner-up; Charlotte Kohnz, second runner-up; (back row) Lennox Burgett, third place float; Emelia Minnich, first place float; and Kaysen Fry, second place float.
Ryan Berry | Daily Advocate
By Ryan Berry
DailyAdvocate.com
BRADFORD — Twenty-three girls and seven boys between the ages of 6-12 took the stage on Tuesday evening to help kick off the 95th annual Bradford Pumpkin Show. The Prince and Princess Pumpkin Pageant is the first of three royalty contests to determine who reigns over the Pumpkin Show.
Contestants were judged on appearance, stage presence/poise, costume and interview. The Prince and Princess each earned $50, a crown, sash and trophy. First runners-up received $25, a sash and trophy and second runners-up received $15, a sash and trophy. Best dressed received a sash and trophy. Float contest winners received $75 and a trophy for first place, $50 and a trophy for second place and third place received a trophy. This year’s contestants were challenged to dress for the theme of Family Game Night.
Crowned as Prince and Princess for 2024 were Carson Bryant and Sunny Peeples. Bryant is in fifth grade and is the son of Kent and Kayla Bryant of Covington, dressed like a hippopotamus from the board game Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Peeples, a second grader at Bradford, is the daughter of Shawn and Holly Peeples. She was the big winner for the evening with first place finishes for Best Costume as she was dressed as Frostina from Candy Land, and she also shared the prize for Best Float that also had the Candy Land theme.
The first runners-up were Braxten Seman and Natalie Rank. Seman, a fifth grader at Bradford, is the son of RJ and Kayla Seman. He was dressed like baseball legend Johnny Bench from a video game. Rank, a fifth grader at Bradford, is the daughter of Ben and Kristen Rank. She was dressed as Carmen Sandiego.
The second runners-up were William Kiehl and Charlotte Kohnz. Kiehl, of Tipp City, is the son of Zach and Tory Kiehl and is in third grade. Kiehl also won the Best Costume award with his Mr. Money Bags outfit from Monopoly. He was equipped with a money shooter. Kohnz is a first grader from Bradford and is the daughter of Davin and Chelsea Kohnz. She was dressed like her favorite board game Candy Land.
Also earning the award for Best Float was Emelia Minnich who shared the first-place prize with Peeples for their Candy Land Float. Minnich is a second grader at Bradford and is the daughter of Deanna and Eric Minnich. Kaysen Fry, a first grader from Bradford, son of Eric and Ashley Fry, took second place float with his Mario Bros. float. Lennox Burgett, a fourth grader at Bradford and daughter of PJ and Mindy Burgett dressed as Miss Scarlet with her Clue themed float and took third place for Best Float.
Additional contestants for the Prince contest were Evan Whitmer, Dean Fessler and Easton Sanderson.
Additional Princess contestants were Keeva Brandt, Lila Murray, Emily Peck, Ella Whitmer, Violet Moore, Oakleigh Diehl, Valleyana Gustin, Kaylee Folley, Aubrie Atchley, Ainsley Yingst, Lily Rank, Anna Rank, Sophia Lacy, Zoey Fessler, Alexis Kiehl, Aryah Lear, Vivian Phlipot, and Korah Adkins.
To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].
