Babies, toddlers will parade at fair

Sporting a crisp white shirt and fine-looking dark vest and pants, Austin Keele sauntered right up to Jenelle Udland on command and flashed a big smile.

“He’s going to own the show,” Udland said, tugging at his vest to check the size. “He’s so cute.”

But 22-month-old Austin won’t be the only one garnering the oohs and aahs on Sunday. Forty-six babies, toddlers, kids and parents will show off spring and summer fashions during Baby Fair 2005.

The annual all-things-babies trade show, which is in its eighth year, will be held at the Spokane Convention Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Show highlights include baby crawl races and other contests, free samples, educational presentations and the always-popular Toddler Fashion Show, put on by the Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory.

When the call went out for models for the fashion show, Julie Alonso knew she wanted to see her daughter on the stage.

“I just thought she was too pretty to not be shown off,” Alonso said of her 6-month-old daughter, Jolie.

Jolie certainly will be pretty in pink when she’s carried on stage in the rosy satin dress that Udland, the fashion show coordinator and a department manager at Burlington, suggested for her. It complements the summery blue dress with pink flowers her mom will wear during the show.

Though Baby Fair primarily draws women who are pregnant and those with babies, Chris Leinweber, events director for Clear Channel, said that in recent years more fathers have been coming to the fair as well.

And why not? With dads often taking care of the kids when moms go to work, they also benefit from information presented at the fair, including the Spokane Fire Department’s run down on how to perform infant CPR and Dishman Dodge’s demonstration on how to correctly install a car seat.

Leinweber said the mix of important information and fun has made the show successful for several years. The show is sponsored by Baby Depot, Holy Family Hospital, Sacred Heart Medical Center, Dishman Dodge and Mother’s Haven, along with Clear Channel Communications.

But for Jolie and Austin, who are too young to understand all the fuss, it’ll be a chance to wrap mom, dad and relatives around their little fingers just a wee bit more with a cute outfit and a smile.