Thirteen young women are competing to become the next Bartholomew County 4-H Fair queen.
Contestants and organizers have spent weeks preparing for the event, which is 7 p.m. Sunday in Columbus North High School’s Judson Erne Auditorium.
Fewer contestants are in this year’s competition, said Annie Romine, who is chairing the pageant committee for the first time this after being on the planning group for more than a decade.
Fifteen candidates competed last year and 19 the year before that, but Romine said this year’s group of 13 is exceptionally qualified.
Nine of the girls are returning candidates, and the other four are avid 4-H members familiar with the fair and pageant, said Romine, a former queen candidate herself.
“Our numbers are down this year, but I think our quality is way up,” Romine said. “And by that, I mean (the contestants are) very mature and articulate. I truly feel like it’s a pretty level playing field going into the pageant.”
Madelyn Steinwedel is among the nine young woman who have competed before.
Describing the experience as fun, Steinwedel said her public speaking skills have improved from last year’s experience.
“It definitely helped me,” Steinwedel said.
Of the skills the contestants must master, interviewing is by far the most important, Romine said. She has even brought in speakers to coach the girls for the four-minute interviews.
“They will use interview skills their whole life,” she said. “So this year I’ve been very purposeful talking to them about that.”
With fewer contestants this year, each will have time to speak in front of the audience every time she is onstage, Romine said.
The contest theme is “Happy Happens Here,” based on the Indiana State Fair slogan.
To go along with that, the candidates will walk out to a happy song, introduce themselves and explain something that makes them happy to the audience, Romine said.
Following their introductions, the contestants will thank their sponsors in business wear. Directly following is evening gown portion, where each candidate will answer a question from the judges.
The pageant concludes with the winning contestant being crowned as fair queen and assuming the responsibilities of the title, which includes visiting with Bartholomew County 4-Hers during the July 6-14 county fair and representing Bartholomew County at the state fair queen pageant in January.
“We ask a lot of the contestants,” Romine said. “They won’t live at the fairgrounds, per say, but they will spend 14 hours a day out there for that (fair) week. It’s a huge commitment.”
Apart from her new title and appearances, the fair queen will receive a $500 scholarship from German American Bank.
Last year’s winner and Miss Congeniality, Alisha Adams, just completed her freshman year at Purdue. The scholarship she earned from the competition was valuable, she said, but not as valuable as the honor of being crowned fair queen itself, Adams said.
The contest is different from other pageants in that it is not based on physical beauty, she said.
“It’s more of a personality pageant,” Adams said. “They want you to be the face of the fair, not just a pretty face. It’s important for girls in this society to learn their full potential. And you have the opportunity to affect other people’s lives as well.”
It is a chance Adams said she is grateful to have had as she prepares to crown a new fair queen Sunday.
“It’s been fun. But I am also so excited for someone new to join the family,” Adams said.
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What: Bartholomew County 4-H Fair Queen Pageant
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Judson Erne Auditorium, Columbus North High School, 1400 25th St.
Cost: $3
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Bios and photos of each of the 13 Bartholomew County 4-H Fair Queen candidates can be found inside on Page A4.
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