As the last notes of the 165th Belchertown Fair’s annual parade drifts off into the autumn air — quickly replaced by the joyous screams of children on carnival rides and the soft coos of barn animals — babies from around western Massachusetts take center stage to see which newborn can giggle, gurgle and grin their way to first place.

The baby contest, an annual tradition at the Belchertown Fair once known as the baby show, has attracted between 20 and 40 babies under a year old. This year, 31 babies entered into the Sept. 21 contest to vie for first, second and third place in nine categories: youngest, prettiest, most handsome, chubbiest, best name, nicest eyes, best nature, best dressed and judges choice. Despite the name, this century-old competition is no “Toddlers and Tiaras,” but rather a celebration of new parents in the community and their little bundles of joys.

“Everyone loves to show off their babies,” said Joe Roberts, father to second place winner for nicest eyes Lucy Roberts. “Is the placing really important? No. I mean, you look around and everyone's smiling and smiling at each other's babies.”

The babies also smile at all the happy faces under the tent, including 3-month-old Ginette, who sits on her father Logan MacPhail’s lap. For the MacPhails, this is a generational affair: MacPhail’s mother, Sonya MacPhail, entered Logan in the contest when he was a newborn and he won best-natured. Even though Ginette’s mother was volunteering at another fair booth during the contest, Sonya was determined to make the event a family tradition. 

“When he (Logan) won, I jumped up and screamed,” Sonya said. “I was the only parent in the whole place that jumped up and screamed.” 

With the contest’s long history, legacy contestants are fairly common. Andy and Melissa Tsoumas, the parents of 12-pound Eleni Tsoumas, entered their two sons into the contest when they were eligible, and Andy’s mother stood up with him and his two siblings when they were babies. Eleni took home best dressed baby out of the female contestants with a cute pink outfit and a big bow on her tiny head.

Other babies belong to new Belchertown residents, like curly-haired Avery and her parents Jamel Jones and Lucas Zlamany. The couple moved to Belchertown from Connecticut three years ago. They learned about the contest a week prior to the fair and immediately became excited to show their first baby, 7-month-old Avery, to the community.

“She's having a fun day,” Zlamany said. “We spent three hours out on the side of the road watching the parade then she needed a nap. She's ready. She’s ready to compete.”

The couple’s pride was validated by Avery’s first place win in prettiest baby category, her dark curls bouncing as Jones brought her child up to accept the certificate. 

Many babies competing for the two best dressed categories, one for each sex, dressed according to the 165th Belchertown Fair’s “Barn in the USA” theme, like Lucy and her barn animal dress, or 2-month-old Nolan Rivet and his pumpkin beanie and matching booties. Miraka and Domenic Giancola, however, strayed from the fall attire, opting to dress 7-month-old Lucas in a dapper outfit complete with a flat cap and bowtie. The risk payed off when Lucas took home first place in the best dressed category for baby boys. 

“We saw in the paper that this (baby contest) was happening,” Domenic said. “We're like, ‘All right, we got to put him (Lucas) in it.’ Five minutes later, she's shopping for an outfit.”

The baby contest doesn’t require contestants to do much besides sit and look cute while three judges, who are volunteers from County Bank, go around and examine the little bundles of joy. Baby contest coordinator Kerry Laurenzo notes that the only eligibility requirement for the contest is age: babies over 1 year old cannot compete.

“It’s a one shot deal,” Laurenzo said. “If you’re under 1 this year, you’re in. If you’re not, you’re out.”

Motivated by the short window for eligibility, Siobhan Koske brought 9-day-old Finnegan to enjoy the fair and take home the youngest baby title and second place for best name. Koske missed her opportunity to enter her daughter into the contest because of the pandemic, and she didn’t want to miss her chance to enjoy the fall festivities. 

“We had to purchase newborn clothes because he was so tiny, so I had to go buy him a special outfit for today,” she said, gesturing at Finnegan’s flannel poking out under his blankets.

Besides streamlining the sign up process, Laurenzo said she runs the baby contest the same way her predecessor did. According to a Republican article from 1994, the baby contest began in 1882 with six entries, and has since expanded to between 20 and 40 entries per year. The number of babies that show up depends on the weather, time and happenstance.

“I did it with my own daughter who is now almost 14. That year, there were 40 or 50 babies. So it really just depends,” Laurenzo said.

The baby contest’s category names have changed over the years, while other categories were added and then removed. “Chubbiest baby” was once “fattest baby.” “Youngest baby” went by the name “smallest baby.” “Best-natured” was called “most aggressive.” There was a “saddest baby” category according to a Morning Union story from 1959, but it seemed to disappear after that year.

“So in general, we usually have the same categories that we're looking at,” said Melissa Stefanowich, head baby contest judge. “Then we always have the judges’ choice, which is always different. Like this year, we chose best hair. Every year it gets harder and harder.”

This year’s judges, Melissa Stefanowich, Chris Luciano and Theresa Beynor, walk around to each baby and decide which category the newborn fits into. Then, they whittle down the list to the top three in each title. Some categories, like youngest baby, are decided by default, while others are based on the group’s consensus. 

“We enjoy being around all the babies that are in the community and getting to see the new youth that’s going to grow up here in Belchertown,” Stefanowich said. 

Ashley Rivet, mother of Nolan who won second for best dressed and youngest, notes that the contest represents a Belchertown tradition that she hopes the next generations will continue for years to come. 

“Our families have been doing it for years, so I think it’s just something for him to look back on when he’s older,” Rivet said.