HUBA to sponsor Festival baby parade

The Hillsboro Uptown Business Association will sponsor the Baby Parade during the 2012 Festival of the Bells.

Festival committee chairperson Michael Bradford said this is the first time the Baby Parade has been featured in at least three years.

"This is the first year the Baby Parade has been back in a while," Bradford said. "The theme is 'Team USA' and the contestants can be decked out in red, white and blue, military or historical US attire."

Registration for the parade will begin July 7 at 10 a.m. on the law of the Highland County Courthouse. The parade will begin at 11 a.m.

Chairman for the event will be Brooke Emling.

There will be four divisions for newborns to 12 months; 13 months to two years; 25 months to three years; and three years and one month to four years.

Division awards will be given for first, second and third places, and overall awards will be given for most attractive, most humorous, most original and most sparkle.

Contestants must be present to be awarded a prize.

Motorized entries are prohibited, and any moving entries must be hand-pulled.

Entry forms will be available on the festival website, and Facebook page.

Bradford said the parade will most likely take place around the sidewalks surrounding the courthouse.

"We think it's a really great thing to have for the community," Bradford said. "In the past, everyone has loved it, and it's great to see the young children and infants get involved, and all the proud parents who want to show off their children. It's just another opportunity for the community to be involved with the festival."