The 141st Annual White County Fair gets underway on Monday and to kick things off, we’ll crown fresh royalty to preside over the proceedings. Our retiring queens, Little Miss Carly Digman, Junior Miss Laney York, and Queen Sidney Bingman all say the last year has gone by quickly. They all also say they’re in favor of breaking down the stereotype of what pageant material means. Laney York says,
“A lot of girls think there’s a certain type. I’ve tried to get a lot of girls to participate and they’ll tell me they’re not the “type” for pageants. But the judges are always different. You’re never going to get the same judge and every judge has a unique opinion. So all types of girls should enter. So yes, all girls should definitely consider it.”
Six little ones will vie for the Little Miss crown that Digman won last year. And she has solid advice for all 6.
“I would tell them if they don’t win this year that they just need to keep trying.”
The opportunity can provide a platform for young ladies to tackle a topic that means something to them. For Queen Sidney Bingman, that’s, “Domestic Violence. I wanted to get people to know more in the community that it’s very common. It was pretty cool when I started talking a lot about it. Like I did something at the Chamber of Commerce. I spoke there about it. After, people had told me a couple of times ‘oh, I never thought you’d go through that, you’re not the stereotypical girl’ and I was like there is no stereotypical girl.”
White County Fair Queens go on to compete in Springfield at the County Fair Queen pageant in January. Having a Pageant Director for White County that’s a former winner makes a huge difference for all the girls, but especially the Queen.
“When I first started, I’m not gonna lie, I was kinda intimidated by Hannah. She’s really tall and she’s so pretty and she’s got this pageant stuff down pat. But once I started working with her a lot, I really look up to her more than anything. I really noticed it preparing for state. She really knows pageants and definitely knows her stuff. She wants to take her girls and wants to prepare them to do their best. We had a ball having late night talks and just having fun at state.”
The White County Fair Queen pageant is at 7pm on Monday, August 5th. Get there early though, as seating is always at a premium for the event. Luke Sailer will serve as emcee and admission is $10 for the event. Carnival rides should be up and running by 5:30pm Monday. There’s no fee for parking all week at the fair. You can learn more and get the full schedule of events online at www.whitecountyfair.com.
