Pageant competition added to this year’s Ionia Days

A highlight of this year’s Ionia Fun Days was the first annual Little Miss, Mister and Miss Teen Ionia competition! This event, held on Saturday morning, drew out many young ones to Ionia’s Main Street to show off their theme wear and await the luck of the draw to find out who would reign this next year.Director Erin Phillips said she got the idea to begin this competition after seeing many of the smaller towns holding their own queen competitions.“I wanted to try something new,” said Phillips. “Most of the kids here were local which is nice to see.”Phillips went on to say that Ionia is a tight community making it a great place to live.All the contestants were welcomed to ride on the pageant float in the parade.The Little Miss Ionia title could go to any young girl, ages 3 to 12. The name drawn this year was Kirsten Reicherts, who was surprised to hear her name.The Little Mister Ionia title went to Abram Pauley.The Miss Teen Ionia competition was judged by four community members with the three competitors having to tell what the best part of Ionia is and what their favorite thing about Ionia is.The judges chose 13-year-old Hannah Eichenberger to reign this coming year.Each of the girls was given a sash and crown while the little mister received a sash and baseball hat.Ionia Days held a variety of events over the weekend including the softball tournament, firemen pancake breakfast at the fire station, the annual parade, a car show, bingo, kids games, a bean bag tournament and of course the street dance to end the weekend’s events.