May 28 Last Day to Enter Queen Competition

Published on May 24, 2010 at 9:12 a.m. by Bob Swales
The registration deadline is rapidly approaching for the 2010 Clearfield County Fair Queen contest. This year's queen will have the honor of presiding over the 150th Clearfield County Fair. She will also be the 22nd such person wearing the crown and sash as she travels throughout the county and state as Clearfield's fair ambassador.

The purpose of the fair queen program is to encourage the promotion of county fairs and Pennsylvania's No. 1 industry - agriculture. The 2010 Clearfield County Fair Queen court will consist of the queen and first and second runners-up. An award of $500 will be presented to the queen and $200 to the first and $100 to the second runners-up, respectively.

New rules instituted by the State Fair Queen Program permit entries from outside Clearfield County as long as the contestant declares the Clearfield County Fair as her home fair and does not run for queen in any other county. The new rules enable the contest to be extended to young ladies who live in another county but participate in the fair and local 4-H and FFA clubs in Clearfield County.

The registration deadline is May 28. All entries must be received in the Clearfield County Fair office or delivered to Fair Queen Committee Chairman Robert Swales by 4 p.m. on that date. The first meeting of all entrants will be held June 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Expo II Building in front of the fair queen office at the Clearfield Driving Park. This is an important and informative meeting that all entrants are required to attend. Complete details will be explained of the entire process from start to finish.

Parents and/or guardians are encouraged to attend the meetings with their daughters. The Clearfield County Fair Queen program has been recognized as one of the best in Pennsylvania, and many other county fairs look to Clearfield for how to run a successful queen program. Past contestants have credited their participation with being more successful when they enter the business world. The Fair Queen Committee members encourage each candidate to reach her full potential. The committee is comprised of adults from various professional backgrounds along with several past queens including one past state fair queen, two first runners-up and several top five finalists.

Throughout the process the committee endeavors to educate the candidates about the Clearfield County Fair and the importance of agriculture. Swales stresses that this is not a beauty or talent contest. The committee is looking for the one person who can best represent Clearfield County to promote the fair and agriculture throughout Pennsylvania.

The queen and her court will serve as goodwill ambassadors year-round and during fair week by greeting visitors, meeting artists from the entertainment industry and presenting awards. They will continue their agriculture education by attending Ag Progress Days in mid-August and participating in other events scheduled by the Fair and Park Board.

The queen also will appear at service clubs and civic organizations. She and her court sponsor several fundraising projects to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network or other local needs. For more information, contact Swales at 765-4121 or 577-0983. Entry forms are available on the Web site www.clearfieldcountyfair.com, in today's newspaper at right, or at the following schools and businesses:

DuBois area: DuBois Area High School, Brockway Area High School, Palumbo's Meat Market, DuBois Diner, Tan Zone, Wayland Agway, Fox's Pizza, and Minit Mart in Penfield. Clearfield area: Clearfield Area High School, Clearfield Fair Board office, Swales Styleline Upholstery, Hair Premier by Suzette, Clearfield Dairy Queen, Clearfield Agway, Slender You - Tan Unlimited, Silverscreen Video and Zalno Jewelers.

Coalport/Irvona/Mahaffey area: Glendale High School, Leyo's Market, Rainey's General Store and Purchase Line High School.

Curwensville/Grampian area: Curwensville Area High School, South Side Subs, Curwensville Feed Store and Sholes Grocery.

Moshannon Valley area: Moshannon Valley High School, Videos Unlimited in Houtzdale, Quik-Chek Market in Madera, and Ken's Stop-N-Shop in Glen Hope.

Philipsburg-Osceola area: Philipsburg-Osceola Area High School, Sarina's Pizza, Hometown Market in Chester Hill and Brother's Pizza.

Woodland/Bigler/West Branch area: West Branch Area High School, Giovanni's Food Express, Maple Mountain Equipment, West Branch Dairy in Allport, Napoli II Pizza in Kylertown and Country Convenience in Morrisdale.