Time to cast votes (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Time to cast votes

4:00pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Emily Roberts

Lat year's winner Harry Minton with his parents

THE time has arrived to judge the entries and cast your votes in this year’s Cute Kids competition.

The Thursday Gazette of February 23 will contain an eight-page special which will feature all of the pictures of this year’s candidates for the category honours and the overall title.

Gazette Newspapers, Festival Place and Fraser Portraits have again teamed up to organise this year’s competition.

All the photos were taken in Festival Place at the end of January, and as in previous years, there are three categories for the 2012 competition – 0 to nine months, 10 to 18 months and 19 to 36 months.

Gazette Newspapers editor Mark Jones said: “The readers’ votes will determine the shortlist of finalists, and the winners and runners-up in each category will then be chosen by a panel of judges.

“There will also be an overall winner – so we are now looking forward to receiving people’s votes after all the photos are published in Thursday’s Gazette.”

The lucky winners in each category will receive a framed portrait and engraved crystal award from Fraser Portraits, a meal at Giraffe, in Festival Place, and a Lush Pamper Hamper.

The runners-up in each category will also receive a framed print and engraved crystal award.

The overall winner – who will be following in the footsteps of last year’s champ, Harry Minton – will receive a framed print and engraved crystal award, as well as a £50 Festival Place gift card.

Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense, in Basingstoke, are also offering the first-place winners in the younger two categories a voucher to one of the baby sensory or toddler sense classes, while the older age group winner will get a voucher for a party.

*See this Thursday's Gazette for the 2012 Cute Kids pictures and details of how to vote.