'American Girl' Fashion Show Seeks Models in Towson

More than 200 girls are expected to turn out to on Saturday for their chance to shine on the catwalk.

The American Girl Fashion Show will host an  Saturday at the mall from noon to 2 p.m for girls from 6 to 12. The fashion show, to be performed four times over March 24 and 25 at the Hippodrome in Baltimore, benefits the Cool Kids Campaign and University of Maryland Children's Hospital.

Organizers are looking for girls who are comfortable with getting on stage.

"We're looking for girls who are enthusiastic. These girls are going to have to get up on a runway in the middle of the mall," said Meghan Scalea, a communications manager with the University of Maryland Medical Center who is helping to organize and promote the audition. "They need to be confident and to be able to hold their head up and smile and, you know, work the runway."

The outfits are pre-sized to girls size 6X (the average first-grader) and 10 (a fourth- or fifth-grader) and are "really wholesome," in keeping with the American Girl brand, Scalea said.

This is the first time the American Girl Fashion Show has been held in Baltimore. This is the fourth tryout for the show. About 330 girls auditioned at events earlier this month in White Marsh, Columbia and Baltimore. Each show will have 45 different models, so that means there's enough room for 180 girls.

For the girls and parents, it's a chance to help children and families facing unimaginable challenges and insurmountable medical bills. The hospital cares for sick children, while the Cool Kids Campaign works to improve the quality of life for young cancer patients and their families.

"We're caring for babies who, when they were born, can fit in the palm of your hand all the way through their teen years getting treatment for cancer or congenital heart disease, anything you can think of," Scalea said. "If you think about it, when a child gets sick, their whole family is affected."