By GRACE NOVOSEL
They say time flies. Boy were they correct! Let me give you a glimpse into my magical ride through an unforgettable year as the 2025 Centre County Grange Fair Queen.
It all began when I stood on the stage, giving a speech about my ride on the merry go round at the Centre County Grange Fair. Moments later I was crowned the new fair queen and had no idea that the real journey was just beginning.
The 2025 Centre County Grange Fair kept my court moving from one end of Grange Park to the other. Thousands of steps were logged by myself, my alternate queen, Annalea Barger and ambassadors, Emma Walizer and Haylee Swoope. We participated in everything we could: livestock shows, daily announcements, riding on the six-horse hitch, relay races and the coveted chicken dance each day. Nine days, many outfits, multiple pairs of shoes but experiences that only few ever get to have. Every day was filled with amazing opportunities to not only participate in these events that make our fair special but meeting so many fairgoers and hearing their stories they have about our fair.
After the dust settled and the gates closed at Grange Park, I realized that my reign had just started. As a senior at Bellefonte High School, I found myself balancing my schoolwork, a part-time job, cheerleading and the many duties of being the fair queen. Fall brought many festivals and homecoming parades. My own school district recognized my accomplishment of being crowned at a Friday Night Football game. It’s a humbling experience to walk across the field in the bright lights in front of my peers and community members to be recognized for all the hard work I have put in to serve our community.
I traveled to Bloomsburg Fair in September to participate in their crowning of their “little bloomer queen”. I got to meet other local fair queens and was given a tour of their fairgrounds. Secretly, it was a good excuse to get to eat some of my favorite fair foods including my favorite, chicken on a stick. A few weeks later, I joined some of these fair queens at the Capitol in Harrisburg for the 2nd annual Pennsylvania State Fair Queen Advocacy Day. State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff and state Sen. Cris Dush met with me to discuss how important the Grange Fair is to our community and the economic benefits it brings to our region. It was a great opportunity to network with other queens and tell people about our “Great Grange Fair”.
As the weather changed and the days got colder and shorter, I found myself doing events both inside and outside in the cold. I was the master of ceremonies of the Centre County Farm-City banquet, bringing farmers and local community members together to celebrate the importance for our community to work together to protect our food sources. I attended many holiday events, including Progress Grange’s Breakfast with the Grinch and read the Night before Christmas at Wasson Farm’s Santa on the Farm event. My court helped me decorate a tree for the festival of the trees and I got help with the horse drawn carriage rides at Victorian Bellefonte. The Hershey family was kind enough to make sure I got my very own ride in the horse drawn carriage around my hometown.
As the new year rang in, I traveled to Harrisburg for a few events representing our fair. First up was the PA Farm Show where I worked in the PA Fair Queen booth meeting Secretary Russell and Lieutenant Governor Davis. Five days later, I arrived in Hershey for the PA State Fair Queen Coordination. I competed against 66 other young ladies representing their Pennsylvania fairs. I submitted my scrapbook (winning second place), did a 10-minute interview and gave my speech. It was a weekend full of activities, attending seminars and networking with other queens and legislators. My favorite part was the judges asking all kinds of questions about our encampment part at the fair. They couldn’t believe that when it storms, you “hunker” down in your tent or camper until the storm is over. I had a great experience and learned so much about myself. I cannot thank our Grange Fair Committee enough for all the love and support they gave me all weekend including staying late Saturday night with a major snowstorm approaching.
Spring approached quickly. It was hard to believe that I was almost over halfway done with the year as fair queen and this unbelievable magical ride. I went into several schools during Ag Literacy Week talking about agriculture and where our food comes from. I visited several Grange meetings, libraries and attended Easter egg hunts, children’s fairs and STEM camps.
The month of May was filled with all kinds of high school senior activities including graduation. In between these activities, I worked more fair queen events into my schedule. We worked with Seven Mountains Media who allow me to come into the radio station to be live on the air for 3 days straight. This was such a fun but bittersweet experience. I was there to talk about the search for the next fair queen.
Which brings me to where we are today. The next few weeks are filled with events including parades, preschool visits and more children’s fairs. I will be busy working with the contestants for this year’s queen contest to prepare them for their journey and the year that’s ahead. On August 19th at 6 p.m., we will have our coordination at Southside Stage naming the 2026 Centre County Grange Fair Queen. At that moment, my magical ride will come full circle and it will be time to end my ride as the Centre County Grange Fair Queen.
Thank you to all who I have encountered and supported my time as your Centre County Grange Fair Queen.
