What a night!
The 2nd Annual Kids Pick Awards was a joyful, high-energy celebration of the incredible local businesses, programs, and people who go the extra mile for Maine families. Thank you to everyone who joined us at 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth for a night filled with music, laughter, delicious local bites, and so much community love.
We’re thrilled to share the full list of this year’s Kids Pick Award Winners — as voted on by local families. These are the spots your kids truly love.
2025 Kids Pick Awards — Full Results
Indoor Play Place
🥇 Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine
🥈 Raise Playspace & Therapy Co
🥉 the playLOT
Daycare
🥇 Seedlings to Sunflowers Childcare
🥈 Heidi’s House Childcare
🥉 The Learning Corner
Preschool
🥇 Lil’ Folk Farm
🥈 Seedlings to Sunflowers Childcare
🥉 Kidz Go Eco Nature School
After School Program
🥇 Fiddlehead Center for the Arts
🥈 Ketcha Outdoors
🥉 Lil’ Folk Farm
Summer Day Camp (Ages 3–7)
🥇 Ketcha Outdoors
🥈 Lil’ Folk Farm
🥉 317 Main Community Music Center
Summer Day Camp (Ages 8–12)
🥇 Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
🥈 Ketcha Outdoors
🥉 LL Bean Summer Kids’ Camp
Summer Overnight Camp
🥇 Camp Sebago
🥈 Camp Chewonki
🥉 Pilgrim Lodge
Parent & Baby Class
🥇 The Little Gym
🥈 Goldfish Swim School
🥉 Growing Littles
🥉 Baby Booty
Toddler Enrichment Class
🥇 Learning With Yaya – Spanish for Kids
🥈 Playful Development Play & Learn
🥉 Little Roots Music Classes at 317 Main
Toddler Physical Development (TIE for 1st Place!)
🥇 Goldfish Swim School Portland
🥇 The Little Gym of Scarborough
🥉 Tumble Tikes Party & Play Gym
Hands-On Activity/Class
🥇 MEPowered Pastries
🥈 Measuring Up Kitchen
🥉 Studio Artisane
🥉 Love Lab Studio
Gymnastics
🥇 Maine Academy of Gymnastics
🥈 The Little Gym
🥉 Tumble Tikes Party & Play Gym
Dance Studio
🥇 The Salt Flat Dance Collaborative
🥈 Drouin Dance Center
🥉 Studio for the Living Arts Dance Complex
🥉 Small Steps School of Dance
Swim Lessons
🥇 Goldfish Swim School
🥈 Westbrook Community Center
🥉 Little Waves Swim Academy
Martial Arts Dojo
🥇 Fourniers Leadership Karate
🥈 Dragon Fire Martial Arts
🥉 Centerpoint Martial Arts
Music Lessons
🥇 317 Main Community Music Center
🥈 Fiddlehead Center for the Arts
🥉 Portland Conservatory of Music
Art Studio / Instruction
🥇 Color Me Mine
🥈 Growing Littles
🥉 Mill Studio Arts
Birthday Party Venue (Baby–PreK)
🥇 Raise Playspace & Therapy Co.
🥈 Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
🥉 Goldfish Swim School
🥉 Sunflower Community Playspace & Cafe
Birthday Party Venue (Gradeschool Age)
🥇 Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
🥈 Happy Wheels Skate Center
🥉 Goldfish Swim School
Birthday Cake / Cupcakes
🥇 MEPowered Pastries
🥈 Cakes Extraordinaire
🥉 Flours & Blooms
Party Entertainment & Experiences
🥇 Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
🥈 Maine Happy Glampers
🥉 Castles in the Sky Events
Party Decor
🥇 Castles in the Sky Events
🥈 Balloon Decor by Laur
🥉 Maine Happy Glampers
Cookies
🥇 The Cookie Jar
🥈 SugarME
🥉 Scratch Baking Co
Donuts
🥇 The Holy Donut
🥈 Eighty-Eight Donuts
🥉 The Cookie Jar
Ice Cream Shop
🥇 Smiling Hill Farm
🥈 Toots Ice Cream
🥉 Fielder’s Choice
Candy Shop
🥇 Len Libby Candies
🥈 Wilbur’s of Maine
🥉 Haven’s Candies
Pizza
🥇 OTTO Portland
🥈 Portland Pie Company
🥉 Flatbread Company
Family-Friendly Restaurant
🥇 The Friendly Toast
🥈 Flatbread Company
🥉 Maine Beer Company
Family-Friendly Café / Coffee Shop
🥇 Café Luna
🥈 Roots Café
🥉 Big Sky Bread Company
Animal Encounters
🥇 Smiling Hill Farm
🥈 Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
🥉 Maine Wildlife Park
Toy Shop
🥇 Island Treasure Toys
🥈 Treehouse Toys
🥉 Rainbow Toys
Kids Clothing
🥇 Lots for Tots
🥈 L.L. Bean
🥉 Sweet Repeats Children’s Consignment
Pediatric Medical Practice
🥇 Intermed Pediatrics
🥈 Maine Medical Partners / MaineHealth
🥉 Mercy Northern Light
Pediatric Therapy Services
🥇 Saco Bay Kids Pediatric Therapy
🥈 StoreySmith Pediatric Clinic
🥉 Mainely Speech Therapy for Kids
Dentist Office
🥇 Just for Kids Pediatric Dentistry
🥈 Southern Maine Pediatric Dentistry
🥉 207 Pediatric Dentistry
Haircuts
🥇 Trimmings
🥈 Crow’s Nest Barbershop
🥉 The Borough Barbershop
Adventure Center
🥇 Urban Air Adventure Park
🥈 Seacoast Adventure (indoor + outdoor)
🥉 Salt Pump Climbing Company
Indoor Family Activity
🥇 Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine
🥈 Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
🥉 Happy Wheels Skate Center
Outdoor Family Activity
🥇 Smiling Hill Farm
🥈 Maine Wildlife Park
🥉 Funtown Splashtown U.S.A.
Apple Orchard
🥇 Libby & Son U-Picks
🥈 Wallingford’s Orchard
🥉 Thompson’s Orchard
Family Campground
🥇 Wolfe’s Neck Oceanfront Camping
🥈 Acres of Wildlife Campground
🥉 Martin Stream Campground
Fair or Festival
🥇 Fryeburg Fair
🥈 Cumberland Fair
🥉 Yarmouth Clam Festival
Family Photographer
🥇 Meg Hatch Photography
🥈 Katie Gardner Photography
🥉 Megan Gormley Photography
Musician / Band
🥇 KindKids Music
🥈 Miss Ellie Osborn
🥉 Tunes with Tucker
Kid-Focused Charity / Cause
🥇 Maine Needs
🥈 The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital
🥉 Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
Thank You to Our Sponsors
🧡 Our 2025 Sponsors
Hosting Venue:
Real Maine Mom would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to 317 Main Community Music Center for their commitment to our Greater Portland community and for graciously allowing us to host this special celebration in their beautiful “Founders Hall.”
Gold Sponsors:
Mindy’s Munchies– Hand-dipped Chocolate & party fun on Rt. 1 in Falmouth! Gifts, platters & events made easy!
The Little Gym– Children ages 4 months to 12 years old grow physical, social, and emotional skills through recreational gymnastics.
Balloon Decor by Laur– Located in Southern Maine, we specialize in premiere organic balloon garland decor.
MEPowered Pastries– MePowered Pastries empowers kids and families to learn, grow, and connect through the power of baking.
Castles in the Sky Events– Full service kids’ party setup, decor, and experiences in your home or venue of choice. Now offering helium balloons!
Carrie Pellerin Photography/ The Maine Photo Studio– A natural light studio rental in Biddeford, Maine—designed for photographers and creatives
Bloom Bar 207– Providing interactive, themed stations including slime bars, bouquet-making, candy carts, and more.
Gregoire Orthodontics– Achieve a beautiful, confident smile with expert orthodontic care. We’ll help you look and feel your best!
Sylvan Learning– Inspiring sucess through personalized learning. K-12 tutoring, college readiness & test prep in Topsham.
Good Eye Productions– We’ll work with you to create the content that represents you, your brand, or your business.
Brickyard Hollow– Enjoy our full-service bar, craft brewery, and a gourmet pizza menu as well as outdoor seating in Yarmouth!
Silver Sponsors:
Special Guests
2025 was extra special as we brought even more people together to create a truly memorable and meaningful experience for all who attended. Adding to the night’s warm and welcoming atmosphere, we were thrilled to feature the incredibly talented local mom and friend, Kate Metzler, on piano. Kate played as guests arrived and again as we welcomed winners to the stage.
Our awards ceremony was hosted by a very special guest emcee, Cristina Frank-Wittman—a local mom, former news anchor, and president of Maine P-Pods, the evening’s silent auction beneficiary.
We also introduced a brand new 2025 award category: Maine Family Campgrounds. It was presented by our trusted Maine family camping expert (& local mom!), Natalie Flynn of The Wandering Chickadee.
To close out the evening, we were honored to feature two of 317 Main’s own teaching artists, Katie McShane and Conor Linehan, who performed a beautiful cello and guitar duo to wrap up the night.
Special Touches
Beautiful flower arrangements by Lindsay, our Events Manager
Amazing charcuterie grazing table by Board Housewife of Maine (Photos by Carrie Pellerin)
Balloon garland and display of our 8 x 10 step and repeat gold sponsor banner by Balloon Decor by Laur (Photos by Carrie Pellerin)
Flower Backdrop and Champagne Wall set-up by Bloom Bar 207
We had an amazing dessert spread, with our main assortment of custom goodies by Sweets from the Clichen. (Photos by Carrie Pellerin).
A complimentary arrangement of desserts was generously provided by Mindy’s Munchies, The Cookie Jar and The Holy Donut. (Photos by Carrie Pellerin)
📸 Event Photos
Enjoy our official event photo gallery, courtesy of the talented Carrie Pellerin Photography.
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin 
Photo By Carrie Pellerin Photo By Carrie Pellerin
🎥 Event Video
Relive the magic in motion with our recap video from Good Eye Productions.
Thank You to All Contributors
Swag Bag, Raffle & Silent Auction Contributors
Thank you to the generous businesses, listed below, that filled our swag bags with fun items for our attendees and to those who helped us raise funds for 317 Main and Maine P-PODS — thank you for supporting our community celebration!!
- Mr. Drew & His Animals Too
- Portland Sea Dogs
- Maine Mariners
- Mindy’s Munchies
- Town Pride
- Goldfish Swim School
- Baby Booty
- Desert of Maine
- Little Mainer
- Learning With Yaya
- Sylvan Learning
- Sea Spray Confections
- Royal River Books
- Len Libby Candies
- Rainbow Toys
- Measuring Up Kitchen
- Sebago Cruise
- Growing Littles
- Urban Air
- Sweet Repeats
- Sugar ME
- The Little Gym
- Little Music Maker
- Feast & Fettle
- Heather Shields Maine
- Trimmings
- Sparetime Portland
More about the Kids’ Pick Awards
Visit the Kids’ Pick Awards page for the latest updates, background details, and highlights from past events. Nominations for the next Kids’ Pick Awards open in January, with voting taking place throughout February—mark your calendar and get ready to celebrate your favorites!
Thank you so much for putting this whole event together. You are truly so important to the Maine business community!