The winners of the 2014 Mermaid Festival Cutie Pageant were Hope Scott, left, and Hayden Castro. This year’s pageant is at 7 p.m. June 26. The Cutie Parade is at 6:30 p.m. June 24. (File Photo)

The North Webster Lions Club is prepping for the 70th annual Mermaid Festival Cutie King and Queen Contest and Cutie Parade. And the club will be honoring that anniversary with the 2015 theme of “Back to the ’70s.”

As part of the annual tradition all children vying for either the king or queen title must participate in the Cutie Parade, which is slated from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24. A rain date for the parade will be Thursday, June 25. The parade line-up will begin at 5:45 p.m. at the North Webster Community Center south parking lot.

While the parade is a requirement to participate in the Cutie Pageant, the parade is open to all children under the age of 14 as of June 1. Additionally, children participating in the Cutie Parade can also participate in the festival’s general parade Saturday, June 27.

Parade entries can be hand drawn, motorized — such as golf carts or small garden tractors — or walking. Participants are also reminded to bring their confirmation letters to the parade.

The Shoop Sports and Youth Foundation Inc. will provide scholarships totaling $30,000 for the parade. Scholarships totaling $20,000 will also be provided for the pageant.

The Cutie Pageant is on Friday, June 26, at the NWCC. Registration will begin at 6:15 p.m. and end at 6:45 p.m. The pageant itself promptly starts 7 p.m.

The pageant is sponsored by the women of the North Webster Lion Club. It is open to all children between the ages of 4 and 6 as of June 1.

An admission fee of $5 for all adults and $2 for children not participating in the pageant will be charged at the gate.

Both the parade and pageant require pre-registration. Applications are available online at http://mermaidfestival.wix.com/backtothe70s or by calling the Mermaid Festival hotline at (574) 834-4316. The deadline for applications is June 19.