BELLVILLE — As the much-awaited 97th Austin County Fair approaches, the 11 candidates vying for the prestigious titles of Austin County Fair Queen and Ticket Queen have been busy traversing the county to promote the annual event.
The 2024 Austin County Fair Queen and Ticket Queen will be crowned Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Austin County Fair Convention and Expo Center in Bellville, which is open to everyone to attend.
The pageant will begin at 5:30 p.m. Before the pageant, the candidates will have an interview portion where they meet one-on-one with the judges. The judges score the candidates on poise and personality, personal appearance, and how they respond to the questions. This year, the candidates only sold season passes to make it more of an even playing field for the ticket queen title.
Once again this year, each candidate will set up a small table and decorate it to reflect themselves.
The fair queen and ticket queen will leave their tables up for display for the fair duration for the fairgoers to see.
The chairmen for the queen’s pageant are Shannon and Kevin Hanath. The committee members are Camryn Christian, Kortney Estep, Kerstyn Hanah, Robin Haugen, Courtney Hollis, Kenadie Kaye, Marisa King, Chelsea Kmiec and Jennifer Schroeder, If you have not purchased your season pass, and there is still time, go to the Austin County Fair website and purchase from a queen candidate of your choice.
Queens candidates are Carly Allen, daughter of Andy and Amanda Allen, sponsored by Double M Fencing; Lylah Durrett, daughter of Ted and Angela Durrett, sponsored by Sim-Tex, L.P.; Taylor Eckelberg, daughter of Ryan Eckelberg, sponsored by Austin County 4-H; Ally Estep, daughter of Amy Crutchfield and Tracy Estep, sponsored by Estep Farrier Service; Ainsley Hancock, daughter of Tony and Kelly Hancock, sponsored by Bellville Meat Market; Kayleigh Kendrick, daughter of Curtis and Megan Kendrick, sponsored by First National Bank; Kaitlyn Kloss, daughter of Karl and Melissa Kloss, sponsored by Cody Havemann Farrier Service; Eryn Kruzel, daughter of JoAnna Kruzel, sponsored by Quality Machine Shop; Alana Lindsey, daughter of Adam and Janci Lindsey, sponsored by Twisted Willow by Donna; Rylea Roecker, daughter of Ryan and Nikki Roecker, sponsored by Brazos FFA; and Samantha Weems, daughter of Timothy and Nicole Weems, sponsored by Lone Star Bounce House.
The Little Miss/Mister, Jr. Miss/Mister and Jr. Fair Queen contest starts the morning of Oct. 5. This will kick off at 9 a.m. with the Little Miss/Mister at the Austin County Fair Convention and Expo Center.
These cowgirls and cowboys do a great job up on stage and have a good time.
The judges score them on their personality/ interview and attire. You never know what they may say, sing, or rope on stage!
The Jr. Miss/Mister will follow the Little’s and kick off the Jr. Fair Queen contest after a break.
The Hanaths will also chair the Little Miss/Mister, Jr. Miss/Mister, and Jr. Fair Queen contests. Marisa King and Samantha Reed are committee members.
