State Fair - Part 2

The 2012 Nebraska State Fair!

     

      I started out Saturday morning riding with my mom out to Grand Island. On our way, Shelly called to confirm the fact that I would be performing my talent and that they needed my music when I got there.
     Upon arriving and dragging all of my stuff to the auditorium, I was shown to the "special" dressing room that was reserved for Miss Nebraska, Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen, and Miss Kool-Aid Days! With a little free time, I grabbed some lunch and joined the girls in the dressing room. It was so nice to get to sit down and chat with the girls, they were all so nice and fun to be around!
    It was strange being on the other side though. Just one year ago I had been sitting in their seats - hanging out in the dressing room, being confined to that room and the auditorium, worried and trying to prepare for the evening to come. This year I was free to walk around the building as I pleased, I got to go out on the grounds, and the only thing I had to be nervous about was my talent! It really was a great feeling!
    The first thing on the agenda was the parade. There were queens from just about every pageant system and it was fascinating learning about these other girls and what they went through to win their titles! The first queen I met was one of the Czech Queens!

    Czech queens put together a traditional outfit such as the one you see here. This particular one came from pieces of Czech materials from her grandparents and she went through and embroidered parts of it! She said that Czech queens are crowned at festivals and that they travel to Czech fairs all over the country!
       Next up I met the Rodeo queens! Their competition is intense! These girls go through a radio interview, a tv interview (I think), a showmanship interview, a showmanship contest, a photogenic contest, a modeling contest, and I believe one or two other things! That makes walking across stage in heels, swimsuits, and gowns and twirling a baton seem like a piece of cake! The girls were very modest though and I was truly excited to meet them!



      After meeting several other amazing queens, we were all ushered out to the parking lot where we clambered into two old firetrucks! The parade was a lot of fun as we rode around seeing the fairgrounds and greeting everyone!

     The parade ended and I had a quick practice before the Queen Meet N' Greet! It had been about a month since the last pageant that was filled with a lot of field twirling and therefore, there were some spots of my talent that I was unsure of. Thankfully I got it pieced back together and was able to prepare for the Meet N' Greet pretty quickly!



     The Meet N' Greet was extremely fun because we had time to catch up with old friends and get to know the queens we didn't know! We also had time to get to know those who came out to see us! I absolutely love meeting new people and I learned a ton at the Meet N' Greet! Plus, I love signing autographs :)

 Table buddies for the autograph session :)

 Love this girl - there is never a dull moment!

 While Mariah and I have gotten closer, it was also amazing getting to know Lianna, Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen!

 Miss and Teen MAO girls!

 All of the queens together!
 

          Last year our current Miss Nebraska, Mariah Cook, and I competed at the State Fair pageant together. Throughout the day, our past Miss Nebraska, Kayla Batt, and the fabulous Darrell Drullinger enjoyed fair foods and running around the grounds. They bragged quite a bit about the red velvet funnel cake while they were there! Needless to say, Mariah and I were jealous and were determined to try this delicious treat at the fair when we returned this year! With a little time to spare before show time, I ran out to the vendors, grabbed us a funnel cake and deep fried oreos, and headed back to the auditorium. While the red velvet funnel cake was good, the deep fried oreos were heavenly! I am certain it was a good thing neither of us had to compete in swimsuit that night though!



      One of the strangest things about returning to the State Fair pageant and not competing this year was the fact that I had so much freedom! Rather than being stuck in the dressing room all day, stressed, nervous, and worried, I was able to roam the halls and the grounds freely and relax. I had a great time with the other queens and I really enjoyed myself! Even at the pageant, there was little stress! I got to walk out on stage and wave during opening number, perform talent under minimal stress because I wasn't competing, and I even got to do a final walk and crown the new representatives! I was also able to simply hang out for a bit backstage because I didn't have much to do!
    It was wonderful being on stage and bantering with Mariah as we awaited the results but I was extremely nervous for crowning! The Miss America crowns are not the easiest things to pin on your own head, let alone the head of a tall girl squatting! Either way the time was upon us to announce the winners - Mindy Schreiber and Charissa Hauge!

    It was such an amazing experience crowning Mindy because we have competed together before. Sharing that excitement with her in that special moment - it was definitely a highlight of the night! I was also proud to pass on my title of Miss Heartland to Charissa Hauge! While we don't really know each other all that well, she seems to be an amazingly kind and ambitious young woman who will be a wonderful representative of the state fair as Miss Heartland! She even arranged an event for some of us queens to go bowling together for Children's Miracle Network this weekend! It should be fun and there will hopefully be a lot of pictures to come!

Crowning Charissa =D

Titleholders :)