Miss Shoe Lake Ava Weldy of Syracuse was crowned the 2025 Mermaid Festival Queen of Lakes during the 79th annual pageant, held Saturday, June 21, inside the North Webster Community Center gymnasium. She is surrounded by her court: Zaylee Guy, first runner up; Jordyn Leninger, second runner up; and Chloe Bollinger, third runner up. InkFreeNews photos by Phoebe Muthart.

By Phoebe Muthart
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — Miss Shoe Lake Ava Weldy of Syracuse was crowned the 2025 Mermaid Festival Queen of Lakes during the 79th annual pageant, held Saturday, June 21, inside the North Webster Community Center gymnasium. The gymnasium’s bleachers were filled with parents, siblings, friends and community members supporting the contestants.

Fourteen contestants entered the pageant, vying for the chance to win the crown. Each contestant represented a different area lake. Each contestant is an upstanding community member, many logging multiple pages of community service and volunteer experiences in their pageant application.

The contestants were: Kendell Jaress, Miss Syracuse Lake, of Syracuse; Rachel Studebaker, Miss Lake Wawasee of Syracuse; Kaitlin Fouts, Miss Chapman Lake, of Warsaw; Jaclynn Worrell, Miss Papakeechie Lake of Syracuse; Gabryal Faurote, Miss Winona Lake, of Pierceton; Ava Couture, Miss Dewart Lake, of Leesburg; Chloe Bollinger, Miss Kuhn Lake of South Whitley; Anna Shock, Miss Shock Lake of North Webster; Zaylee Guy, Miss Webster Lake, of North Webster; Josie Knowlton, Miss Koontz Lake of Walkerton; Jordyn Leininger, Miss Beaver Dam Lake, of Pierceton; Ava Weldy, Miss Shoe Lake, of Syracuse; Gwendolyn Frank, Miss Center Lake, of North Webster; and Lillian Kelsey, Miss Barbee Lake, of Warsaw.

The Queen and her court are awarded scholarships provided by Shoop Sports and Youth Foundation, Inc. The Queen is awarded $2,000; 1st runner up, $1,500; 2nd runner up, $1,000 and 3rd runner up $500. These scholarships will be applied to the Queen and her court’s higher education.

Her court is: Zaylee Guy, first runner up; Jordyn Leninger, second runner up; and Chloe Bollinger, third runner up.

Additionally, the winners of the parade float competition were named. Each queen candidate was required to participate in the Mermaid Festival parade, held earlier today, and were judged for scholarship prizes, also provided by Shoop Sports and Youth Foundation, Inc. Scholarships range from $250 to $750.

Earning first place in the parade was Miss Papakeechie Lake, Jaclynn Worrell; Miss Webster Lake, Zaylee Guy, earned second place; and third place was Ava Weldy, Miss Shoe Lake.

The 2021 Mermaid Festival Queen of Lakes Corynn Barton, the pageant’s emcee, announced the winners of two additional awards. The North Webster Lady Lions Club Community Service award was presented to contestant Miss Webster Lake, Zaylee Guy, and Miss Congeniality was awarded to Anna Shock, Miss Shock Lake.

The contestants are shown in their evening gowns.

The contestants are shown in their theme wear attire. This year’s theme was “Circus Under the Big Top.”

All of the Queen of Lake contestants surround the new Queen of Lakes Ava Weldy.

The final four finalists were named after a question and answer session and were: Zaylee Guy, Jordyn Leninger, Chloe Bollinger, and Ava Weldy.