Jersey County Fair prepares for 61st pageant

By Editor | June 29, 2022 |

Announces Queen’s Club Foundation

By Connor Ashlock

One of the most highly anticipated events of the summer is the annual Miss Jersey County Fair Queen pageant, so locals will be excited to know the 61st annual contest for official hostess and representative of the fair will be held at the Jersey County Fair grandstand on Wednesday, July 13, beginning at 7 p.m.

According to Pageant Director Tiffany Phillips, this year’s pageant will present a full roster of young ladies competing for the position.

“This year, we have six beautiful and well rounded ladies vying for the title of Miss Jersey County and 15 adorable and sweet Little Miss contestants,” Phillips said.

Already, this year’s contestants have begun their preparation for the pageant, which includes weekly practices, writing speeches, fine-tuning their posture, undergoing mock interview sessions and selling 50/50 tickets (which are $1 each for those interested) to help support the event.

Aside from the 50/50 drawing, the pageant will also feature a people’s choice contest during the pageant, where attendees can vote for their favorite contestant by placing money in a jar that features the contestant’s face. The money made from the people’s choice will help fund next year’s pageant.

Additionally, Phillips noted that the young ladies’ time is also occupied working alongside current royalty in readying the fairgrounds for the fair. But it isn’t all work and no play.
Contestants have been afforded a special contestant dinner in addition to representing the fair at neighboring county exhibitions.

Indeed, preparation for the pageant is no small feat.

Thankfully, Phillips can rely on the sure and steady support of dedicated volunteer crew members to keep everything running smoothly.

“This will be my third year with the pageant and second as director. Each year I am fortunate to have an amazing crew to help with the event. The crew this year has gone above and beyond helping as well as our reigning royalty and their families,” Phillips noted.

What keeps Phillips and her crew at the helm year after year is a love for the fair and the reward of watching two young ladies grow exponentially in their tenure, especially in community-mindedness.

Folks often don’t recognize the full-time gig being a queen (or a queen’s chaperone) can be– especially when you consider all the county fairs and community events they represent the fair at, not to mention the state fair and state convention.

“There are no words that can explain our 2021 royalty. They have been simply amazing and we are so very sad to see this year end,” Phillips said. “Miss Aubrey McCormick and Little Miss Olivia Mooney have put a substantial amount of miles on their sashes and crowns this year. They have traveled the State of Illinois visiting other county fairs and their pageants, participated in parades and festivals as well as devoted countless hours to various community service projects such as ringing bells for the Salvation Army and repairing the community park in Grafton, just to name a few. Both of these young ladies have represented our county fair and community with such poise and dedication. We have been honored to have them represent us this past year.”
Throughout the history of fair queen pageants in Illinois, a trend has emerged in the past several decades in which queens are vested with a greater amount of responsibility and importance within the county fair community– a year-long endeavor on behalf of the local agricultural fair as it serves to showcase and promote the industry to the broader population.

“The newly crowned queen will serve as the official hostess for the 2022 Jersey County Fair,” Phillips explained. “She will spend the fair week distributing awards, welcoming fairgoers and attending grandstand events. After fair week, she will be out in our community serving others and helping wherever she is needed. Throughout the year, she will travel to other fairs throughout the State of Illinois to represent Jersey County.”

As the fair royalty represents her local exhibition and the organization that hosts it, she will also spend the first half of her regnal year preparing for an even bigger pageant with an even bigger role to fill should she win.

“In January, she will travel to Springfield to compete in the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant. This pageant allows girls to gain confidence, develop communication and leadership skills they will use in their future and develop lifelong friendships,” Phillips shared.

The winner of the state pageant will also serve as the official hostess of the Illinois and DuQuoin state fairs.

The Jersey County Fair Queen Pageant is always seeking to implement new ideas and initiatives that will help with the success of the event itself, new opportunities to improve the experience for royalty and contestants, and anything else that will bolster community impact.

This year, Phillips and her team are announcing the latest enterprise of the pageant: the Queen’s Club Foundation, a group exclusively made up of former Miss Jersey County Fair queens.
“This lovely group of ladies made monetary donations to be used to give our retiring queen a farewell gift as well as a monetary donation to the newly crowned queen to be used for her expenses for the upcoming year,” Phillips said. “If any past Miss Jersey County Fair queens are interested in becoming a member of the Queen’s Club Foundation, please reach out to us on the Miss Jersey County Fair Pageant Facebook page.”

As stated above, the pageant will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, at the Jersey County Fair grandstand. Track seats are $8 a ticket and grandstand seating is $6 a ticket.
“We would love to see everyone out that evening to see who will be the 2022 Miss and Little Miss Jersey County,” Phillips said.