There were several finalists from the area that competed at the 112th annual Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs convention held at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield last month.
One of the highlights of the annual event is the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant. Clay County’s 20 year old Paige Van Dyke took home the top prize. Macoupin County’s Mackenzie Moyer and Schuyler County’s Charlie Weishaar finished in the Top 15. Weishaar finished as fourth runner-up.
Van Dyke will be a summer employee of the Department of Agriculture. She will travel to about 30 county fairs and will be the official hostess of the Illinois State Fair in Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fair. As queen, Van Dyke’s main duty is to emphasize the importance of agriculture and county fairs to Illinois.
Earlier at the IAAF annual convention, Talent Show winners were chosen. In the Junior Division Talent Show, Macy Waters of Calhoun County was the winner with a jazz dance with second place going to Jaycee Bates of Morgan County with a lyrical dance. In the Senior Division Talent Show, fourth place went to Lydia Cunningham and Norah Willis of Schuyler County with a vocal duet.
In total, this year’s convention had more than 2,500 in attendance.