On the evening on Saturday, July 20, outgoing 2023 Lebanon Area Fair Queen Madison Copenhaver crowned Brooke Beamesderfer the 2024 Lebanon Area Fair Queen and Kylee Williams the 2024 Alternate Lebanon Area Fair Queen at the coronation ceremony in the Carl Wenger Pavilion.
Coriana Bomgardner also made history by becoming the Lebanon Area Fair’s first princess in its 68 years.
“We added a princess category this year to try and encourage younger girls to hopefully be interested in participating in the queen program in the future,” said Andrea Harrell, chair of the fair queen and princess competition, in a follow-up email to LebTown.
The competition started in the early afternoon on the first day of this year’s fair, with an event in the Ag Center that was closed to the press and the public. The contestants, which, in addition to the titleholders, included Maggie McAteer for queen and Ellie Eberly and Saige Balmer for princess, presented their written response to the prompt, “What my fair means to my community.” They were also interviewed by this year’s judges.
Throughout the competition, the judges evaluated the contestants based on their public speaking skills, their commitment to community service, and their involvement with the Lebanon Area Fair, according to Liz Voight.
Voight herself was crowned the 2018 Lebanon Area Fair Queen, the 2018 PA Fair Queen, and the first runner-up in the 2023 and 2024 Miss Pennsylvania competition, and stayed true to her roots by serving as emcee for this year’s Lebanon Area Fair coronation ceremony.
Read More: Northern Lebanon grad Liz Voight embracing pageant life in pursuit of Miss Pennsylvania crown
Hope Wagner opened the coronation ceremony with a violin performance, which was followed by a welcome speech by Voight and then introductions to the contestants as well as the judges, who all have backgrounds in agriculture.
Beamesderfer, 18, is celebrating her ninth year at the Lebanon Area Fair and will study agricultural business this fall, leaning towards Penn State University’s main campus as of an early 2024 LebTown article. She was escorted to the stage by her father.
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During her three- to five-minute speech in response to the prompt “Why you should attend my fair,” Beamesderfer spoke to the way in which the Lebanon Area Fair showcases the charm of a rural way of life. She also mentioned the opportunities to get involved as a guest, volunteer, and exhibitor, as well as the sense of community that the fair offers.
“No matter what the decision may be at the conclusion of this coronation, you may be certain that I will continue to promote this special event because of the way that it establishes our community beyond our county lines, unifying us in heart rather than location,” the 2024 Lebanon Area Fair Queen said.
In response to the impromptu question that she randomly selected from a basket — “What is a new event you would like to see come to the fair?” — and read silently before it was read out loud twice by Copenhaver, Beamesderfer said she would love to see a few local farmers spotlighted to non-farmers and the public in general.
Williams, 19, was the 2022 Alternate Lebanon Area Fair Queen and the 2023 Alternate Lebanon Area Fair Queen and hoped that the third time would be the charm. The rising sophomore who is studying surgical technologies at Central Penn College was escorted to the stage by her brother.
During her speech, Williams spoke to the scope of the Lebanon Area Fair’s offerings, with her personal favorite being the demolition derby and firework show. She also noted the firsthand experience that she gained from serving as alternate fair queen for the past two years.
In response to her impromptu question — “If chosen as the Lebanon Area Fair queen, how would you promote your fair and your community?” — Williams said she would create posts on social media that incorporate a scavenger hunt to get people to come to the fair and check out everything that the fair has to offer.
McAteer, 18, will study agricultural business and communications at Delaware Valley University. She was escorted to the stage by her father.
During her speech, McAteer spoke to the “helping hands” of Lebanon County that helped plan for months leading up to the fair and help out during fair week and encouraged audience members to join the community that the fair creates.
In response to her impromptu question — “If you could change one thing about your fair, what would it be and why?” — McAteer said she would modify the fair to make it more inclusive to individuals with different challenges. She mentioned the IU13 class at her high school and suggested sensory outlets and hands-on learning opportunities as additions to the fair.
Bomgardner, 13, was escorted to the stage by her father.
During her one- to three-minute speech about agriculture in her everyday life, Bomgardner opened by saying, “Let me tell you a story about a young girl who had a big dream but didn’t have much to work with to make this dream possible. This girl’s dream was to have one of the largest livestock farms in her county, but she kept on running into problem after problem. This girl’s dream didn’t start to become a reality until her older sister decided to buy a beef cow.”
“… Because this girl shared a passion for agriculture with her sister, she helped when she was needed to grow the herd and eventually [added] dairy show heffers, market hogs, and this past year, lambs. From then on, she became very interested in taking care of animals. However, it wasn’t until 2021 when this girl got the chance to buy her own dairy heffer and show it at the Lebanon Area Fair. Now, in case you haven’t figured out who this girl is, this girl is Coriana Bomgardner. This girl is me.”
In response to her impromptu question — “If you could have one wish, what would you wish for?” — Bomgardner said for everyone to have at least one opportunity to see what the agriculture industry is all about.
Eberly, 11, was escorted to the stage by her father with a milkshake in hand, which she handed to a young girl sitting in the front row.
During her speech, Eberly talked about her experience with raising 4-H animals to show at the fair, doing activities with fellow 4-H members, as well as growing crops with her family members. She pointed out that flowers, trees, and beekeeping are often overlooked as areas of agriculture.
In response to her impromptu question — “What is your favorite part of the fair and why?” — Eberly said that out of the fair’s many options, the 4-H shows are her favorite because she can share her talents.
Balmer, 11, was escorted to the stage by her father.
During her speech, Balmer talked about the diverse offerings of the fair, including entertainment to keep you off your phone and her personal favorite: the animal exhibits. She added that she has been attending the fair since she was a baby and has been volunteering for several years.
In response to her impromptu question — “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” — Balmer answered the Lebanon Area Fair!
The 2023 Lebanon Area Fair Queen was escorted to the stage by her father.
During her reign as queen, Copenhaver made several appearances throughout the valley and competed for the title of state fair queen this past January. She plans to pursue a business degree at HACC and a sewing certification program through ASDP.
“It is hard to believe how quickly time has passed and that I was standing on this stage one year ago,” Copenhaver said in her farewell speech. “This past year has been filled with so many cherished memories, and it has been such an honor and privilege to represent my fair, the agriculture community, and my community.”
During her speech, Copenhaver said that she struggled to pick a favorite memory from her reign because there are so many to pick from, with the Tuff Trucks event to support Fill a Glass with Hope being one of her favorites.
She thanked the fair board, the fair queen and princess competition organizers, Harrell and Ashley Bishop, her “crown buddy” a.k.a. Williams, as well as her 4-H director and agriculture teachers, friends, and family members for their support.
Voight announced the four recipients of the scholarship by the Lebanon Area Fair barbeque committee as well as the four recipients of the scholarship by the Lebanon Area Fair scholarship program. Copenhaver was also awarded a $1,000 scholarship for her service as the Lebanon Area Fair Queen this past year.
Erica Teagarden, the 2024 PA Fair Queen and the 2023 Washington County Agricultural Fair Queen, was among the current and former royalty in attendance at the coronation ceremony.
“One part of my state fair queen experience that I’ve really been enjoying so far is getting to see the eastern side of the state because I only ever come over this way for one thing, and that is farm show, so I have been excited to get a little farther [and] get to visit a lot of fairs,” the 20-year-old Washington County-based queen said when welcomed to the stage to speak about her reign.
Wengers of Myerstown once again sponsored the tractor-pulled wagon float that transported the young women from the Ag Center to the Carl Wenger Pavilion.
The Lebanon Area Fair Board, Grumbine’s Flowers, Wildflowers on Fox, Stockyard Style, Leitzel’s Jewelry, Hair Affair, Tim McGowan Studios, and Hope Wagner also sponsored the 2024 Lebanon Area Fair Queen and Princess Contest.
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