Photo by Howard Owens.
When a dozen girls aged 6 to 17 talked about agriculture and farming Sunday, followed by quickly changing out of their dresses and heels and into colorful dance outfits, it was clear it was time for the 2023 fair queen pageant at Genesee fairgrounds.
Competitors in varying age categories reviewed facts about beets, showed off their rabbits, read essays about the importance of agriculture and how it has affected their lives and the community, performed jazz, ballet, acrobatics, read a story, led a cheer, and some -- like Katherine Ewert of Batavia -- took a chance for the first time.
“I guess I really just wanted to do it this year, I kind of just felt like it. I saw the ad, and it seemed like a good idea. And I mostly just wanted to put my experience with agriculture to use, and the fair, and how much it's impacted me. And I wanted to maybe inspire some people to start being more involved in 4-H and the fair in general, so that way, agriculture can grow even more,” the 17-year-old said, sharing what she’s learned from working with horses in 4-H. “I’d say it's taught me a lot about hard work and what's really important in life and just how to be a good person and how to inspire change in others.”
Contestants with a full range of essays, talents and personalities took to the stage over the course of two hours in front of an enthusiastic audience. The yellow and white striped entertainment tent was filled with spectators during this first day of a two-round competition.
Girls first demonstrated their speaking abilities, followed by the talent portion, which was a more lively, musical part of the event on yet another very warm day at the fair. The aroma of nearby kettle corn blew into the tent area with occasional compassionate breezes as audience members clapped and cheered for their favorite queen contenders.
Ewert said that she wasn’t so taken with the title of queen — “it doesn’t mean a ton to me” — as what it would mean to achieve it.
“But it's nice to accomplish something if I do win I mean, I know Panorea, she's an amazing contestant. And if she won, she deserves it,” Ewert said. “But I guess it just means that I touched somebody with the most features and that I inspired someone. I think I would want some little girl who was like me to walk away and be like, I want to do that. I want to be involved in the community and be involved with agriculture.”
This is the second time in the pageant for Panorea Tsoukalos, 16. She has what she referred to as her family “farm” at home, a menagerie of dogs and cats. Suffice it to say she loves animals, though she’s not in 4-H.
The Batavia contestant also chose to share about agriculture in Genesee County, and her talent was dancing. Perhaps a bit shy at first, being up on stage is helping with that, she said.
“I feel like I get more confidence just talking in front of people,” she said.
Eleanor “Ellie” Hudson, 9, was one of the few contestants paper free on stage. She began earlier this month to memorize her essay and recited it without the use of notes. Wearing a turquoise and white checked dress and glittery silver Maryjanes, Ellie is not shy about her goals and pursuits in the ag business.
“I said to my mom when I grow up, I want goats,” she said. “We have 11 to 12 goats, and I will name every single one of them for you. My favorite one is Lovey, she had a 7 percent chance of living. We kept her in my mom’s room.”
Ellie is kind of like a speech machine, she seems to know exactly what she wants to say, and she just keeps talking in matter-of-fact form. A resident of Alabama, her precociousness and charm has not gone unnoticed, earning her a spot on regional TV twice so far, she said.
Still, she had a tinge of uncertainty heading up to the stage, she said.
"I was a little nervous. But once I started doing it, I was feeling great,” she said, heading for the restroom to change into her jazz costume. “My nana was giving me a hug.”
Monday is the finale, after introductions and bios of each contestant and questions from the judges and the pageant host. It’s likely to be a tough choice for queen in the end, given the line-up of girls, Pageant Director Verginia Zocco said.
“Because this year for some reason, the girls have gone above and beyond. I don't know if you were listening to some of the speeches, but we got like, information on history this year. We got information on local farms this year. How actually the Genesee County Fair impacts their lives. It has just been stunning this year,” Zocco said. “It seems like girls are really giving 110 percent to the pageant. I don't know what it is. But it must really be just taking shape, I guess. Like, I don't know how to explain it. But it's just, like this year, I saw during the fair girls up on stage practicing for their talent yesterday before the pageant even started. Everyone has just been really serious about it. And I think taking pride in it.
“You know, it's been amazing this year. And I wonder if it's because we have more girls, that they're talking to each other, getting ideas from each other, making more friendships with each other,” she said. “Because last year, we only had like seven girls; this year, we’re up to 12. And it was really cool because one of the girls actually pulled the tractor, put on her dress, and she was running over to the pageant. Yeah. So girl, I'm like, ‘you're my kind of princess,’ pull your tractor and then you put on a gown.”
The fair queen pageant and crowning runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday in the entertainment tent.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
