Logan County to crown new 2020 Fair Royalty

[June 24, 2020]   LINCOLN - The recent announcement that the 2020 Logan County Fair would be canceled due to coronavirus was a big disappointment to many folks. Understandably, the Fair Board delayed the decision for as long as they could and said it was the health and welfare of all.

Not only is the Logan County Fair an entertainment and social cornerstone to the community, for participants it offers personal growth through experience and competition, and for some it also represents cash rewards and/or advancement.

A grandstand favorite at the Logan County Fair is the Queen Pageant, which serves all of the above benefits.

Here’s some great news: While closed to public attendance, there will be a 2020 Logan County Fair Queen Pageant.

New royalty will be chosen and you will be able to see the competitions.

Pageant Director Bethany Rademaker is working with the team of volunteers who put on the pageant each year to make something special for this year and at the same time it will be vastly different from past years.

The pageant is not going to be open to the public. The events of the day will be viewable on the Logan County Fair Queen social media accounts.

This year the pageant will take place on Sunday, August 9th. The closed to the public event will be held on the Lincoln Stage beginning in the afternoon.

The competitions will be held as three separate events. The Little Miss Pageant will begin at 1 p.m. Junior Miss candidates will take the stage at 3 p.m. and the Logan County Fair Queen competition will commence at 6 p.m.

Rademaker said that there are many precautions in place to protect the contestants and attendees.

She explained that each contestant in each category will be allowed to purchase up to six tickets for family. No other tickets will be sold for the event.

The seating for the family members will be grouped together throughout the building. Each cluster of chairs will be labeled with the contestants name and the chairs will be grouped so as to maintain eight feet of distance between the groups.

After each competition, the audience chairs will be sanitized and re-grouped for the next competition.

Hand sanitizer will be provided for guests and use of face masks is highly encouraged.

Each contestant will be required to sign and submit a ‘good health waiver’ before each practice and the final competition.

Guests will be asked not to gather in groups prior to or after the competitions and the use of the public restrooms will be highly discouraged.

For the contestants, the days leading up to the pageant will also take on a different look. Rademaker said that initial interviews will be done using virtual media. Live practices will be held outside, and social distancing will be observed by the contestants and those attending practices with them.

Practices will also be held separately. The day before the pageant, Saturday, August 8th, Junior Miss rehearsals will take place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The Little Miss competitors will participate in stage rehearsal from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Queen contestants will hold their rehearsal from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

So, while the pageant this year may look a lot different from years past, it will still go on, and come Monday, August 10th, Logan County will have a new set of royalty.

The Logan County Fair began in 1937. The first fair queen was crowned in 1939. That lovely young woman was Eileen (Stopher) Froelich. The queen pageant continued on until World War II. Then there was a four year period from 1948 through 1952 when no pageant was held.

The Logan County Fair Little Miss competitions were added in 2009 with Imagin Werner being the first to wear that crown.

The Junior Miss competition was added in 2017 with Karson Mott being the first to own that title.

Of the two younger competitions, Julia Collins holds the distinction of being both a Little Miss in 2011 and a Junior Miss in 2018.

The 2019 Royalty that will relinquish their crowns on August 9th are Queen Sky Kretzinger, Junior Miss Anna Kindred and Little Miss Jolie Grisham. All three young ladies have done an excellent job of representing our county and we thank them for their year of service.

We also wish all the 2020 contestants the best of luck and look forward to seeing who will wear the crowns for the coming year.

The 2020 Pageant crew includes:

Queen Pageant Director:
Bethany Rademaker
[e-mail]
217-828-0804

Junior Miss Pageant Director:
Katie Gosda
[e-mail]

Co-Director, Former Royalty Director:
Michelle Paulus
[e-mail]

Little Miss Director:
Lindsey Strange
[e-mail]
217-828-2883

Choreographer:
Brande Montgomery

Rules for each competition are posted on the Logan County Fair Queen Website  and questions regarding the contests may be emailed to the pageant crew.

Applications will to be available soon via the website.

[Nila Smith]