Winners of the 2023 Bradford Pumpkin Show Prince and Princess Pageant are (front row) Ainsley Yingst, second runner-up; Lila Murray, first runner-up; Oakley Cochran, princess and second place float; Joseph Grilliot, prince; Carson Bryant, first runner-up; Andrew Puthoff, second runner-up; (back row) Kaige Woodruff, costume winner; Anna Rank, costumer winner; Sunny Peeples and Emelia Minnich, float winner; and Oakley Diehl, third place float.
Ryan Berry | Daily Advocate
By Ryan Berry
DailyAdvocate.com
BRADFORD — The Bradford Pumpkin Show couldn’t have asked for a better opening night of the annual event. Thousands of people invaded downtown Bradford to enjoy the food trucks, throw confetti, ride rides, enjoy the parade, celebrate pumpkins and find out who would be named the 2023 Bradford Pumpkin Show Prince and Princess.
This year’s theme for the Prince and Princess was Disney Magic and the kids were dressed as their favorite Disney characters. One contestant dressed as his favorite ride, Buzz Lightyear, from the Magic Kingdom. There were several Cinderellas, a few Belles, a couple of Winifred Sandersons, a Little Mermaid, Te Fiti and Maui, Mater, Lightning McQueen, Cruella, and many more characters.
The judges had a difficult time deciding the winners and took their time debating and discussing the contestants. With the costumes being exceptional and the kids showing a lot of poise on stage, any one of the 20 girls and 10 boys could have been crowned. However, once the votes were tallied the winners were eight-year-old Oakley Cochran dressed as Winifred Sanderson, and seven-year-old Joseph Grilliot on his white steed dressed as Prince Charming.
Cochran is the daughter of Freddy Cochran and Emily Welch, of Bradford, and Grilliot is the son of Eric Grilliot of Bradford and Jennifer and Curtis Whitesel of Indiana.
First runners-up were nine-year-old Lila Murray, daughter of Ben and Fierra Murray of Troy, dressed as Cruella, and nine-year-old Carson Bryant, son of Kent and Kaila Bryant of Covington, dressed as Lightning McQueen.
Second runners-up were seven-year-old Ainsley Yingst, daughter of Dusty and Crystal Yingst of Bradford, dressed as Cinderella and eight-year-old Andrew Puthoff, son of Terry and Rita Puthoff of Bradford, dressed as Mater.
Anna Rank, 10, daughter of Jacob and Sydney Rank of Bradford, won for best costume in the Princess Contest with her Maleficent costume. Kaige Woodruff, 7, son of Ryan and Heavenly Woodruff of Bradford, won best costume in the Prince Contest with Buzz Lightyear ride costume.
Sunny Peeples, 7, daughter of Shawn and Holly Peeples, and Emelia Minnich, 7, daughter of Eric and Deanna Minnich of Bradford, combined their talents and won for best float. They were dressed as Cinderella and Belle. Cochran earned second place in the float contest with her Hocus Pocus float. Oakleigh Diehl, 6, daughter of Derrick and Katelyn Diehl of Bradford, took third place in the float contest with her Little Mermaid float.
Additional Princess contestants were Aryah Lear, 8, Alexis Kiehl, 6, Evelyn Biddlestone, 8, Natalie Rank, 9, Zoe Hudleson, 10, Ella Whitmer, 9, Addalyn Grant, 9, Aubrie Atchley, 6, Violet Moore, 6, Vailey Gustin, 7, Zoey Fessler, 6, Lillian Hiler, 8, and Lillian Rank, 6.
Additional Prince contestants were Killian Garvey, 8, William Kiehl, 8, Evan Whitmer, 6, Dean Fessler, 10, Garrett Yingst, 9, and Lincoln Spurgeon, 6.
To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].
