Lebanon Area Fair Queen and Princess program now accepting applications

With the 69th annual Lebanon Area Fair less than a month away, the Lebanon Area Fair Queen and Princess program is encouraging girls across Lebanon County to apply now through Saturday, July 5, for a chance to be crowned.

Girls must be Lebanon County residents or, alternatively, Lebanon County 4-H program members for at least two consecutive years to apply. As of June 1, girls between the ages of 16 and 20 are eligible to apply for fair queen, and girls between the ages of 10 and 15 are eligible to apply for fair princess.

The application process for fair queen involves a signed permission slip, a short biography, and an essay in response to the prompt, “What my fair means to my community,” in 300 words or less. The application process for fair princess is similar, with the essay prompt being, “What agriculture means to me.”

The online application for fair queen and fair princess must be submitted by Saturday, July 5. The paper application for fair queen and fair princess must be sent to Andrea Harrell, 1383 Pleasant Road, Lebanon, PA 17042, and postmarked by Saturday, July 5. These applications are also available at the Lebanon Area Fair Office.

Candidates will get the chance to meet one another at a dress rehearsal at the Carl Wenger Pavilion prior to the day of the coronation ceremony, which will be held Saturday, July 19, starting at 5 p.m.

On the opening day of the fair, candidates will wear a business or business-casual outfit to be interviewed by a panel of judges at the ag center, starting at 1:30 p.m. This event is closed to the public.

As part of the public coronation ceremony, candidates will wear a formal evening gown to make a grand entrance to the pavilion on a tractor-pulled float, walk to the stage with their escort, and introduce themselves.

Fair queen candidates will give three- to five-minute speeches in response to the prompt, “Why you should come to my fair.” Fair princess candidates will give one- to three-minute speeches in response to the prompt, “Agriculture in my everyday life.” Candidates will also answer an impromptu question.

Continuing an almost 40-year tradition and trailblazing a new tradition, the 2025 Lebanon Area Fair Queen and Princess will serve as ambassadors for the county’s fair and agricultural community throughout the week of the fair and the year.

“Ashley [Bishop] and I are here to support whatever they would like to do during the week of the fair or during the year. We’re here to support them to make whatever happen happen that they want to do,” program co-coordinator Andrea Harrell told LebTown.

The 2025 Lebanon Area Fair Queen, who is also required to run in the state competition, will receive a $1,000 check at the end of her reign.

On the morning of Saturday, June 14, at the Lebanon Expo Center, 2024 Lebanon Area Fair Queen and 2025 Pennsylvania State Alternate Fair Queen Brooke Beamesderfer led a brunch and informational session with the help of “the queen team” — program co-coordinators Harrell and Bishop.

Beamesderfer’s lack of awareness about the program when she was running for fair queen inspired her to plan this event. Beamesderfer expressed her appreciation for the creative freedom that comes with being a fair queen supported by the program co-coordinators and the flexibility that comes with the role, which was essential for her as a college student and employee of the fair office, among other roles.

During the June 14 event, interested girls and their chaperones enjoyed royalty-themed beverages, breakfast rolls, yogurt parfaits, and cinnamon rolls catered by LE’s Cupcakes, sponsored by an anonymous donor.

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The event also featured informational papers, applications, fresh flowers, including lavender provided by Matt and Ashley Bishop, string lights, display images of past royalty, and a 360 video booth provided and manned by Tim McGowan.

While meeting other girls interested in the program, girls and their chaperones asked Beamesderfer, 2024 Lebanon Area Fair Princess Coriana Bomgardner, and the “queen team” about applying for and becoming fair queen and princess.

“Being the first-ever Lebanon Area Fair Princess was really special for me, especially because, you know, being a generational person who shows at the fair here. My grandmother actually helped design the Brightbill Arena,” Coriana Bomgardner, younger sister to Chloe Bomgardner, told LebTown. She also spoke highly of the program co-coordinators, Beamesderfer, and 2024 Alternate Lebanon Area Fair Queen Kylee Williams.

“I’m so glad that I get to share this experience with my younger kids, if I have kids in the future. I get to show all my younger siblings and pave the way for them, you know, just to see what this fair queen program is all about. I’m so glad that I get to share with other younger girls that might want to do it someday in the future.”

During the informational session, 2022 Lebanon Area Fair Queen and 2023 Pennsylvania State Fair Queen Chloe Bomgardner; 2017 Lebanon Area Fair Queen, 2018 Pennsylvania State Fair Queen, and first runner-up in the 2023 and 2024 Miss Pennsylvania competition Elizabeth Voight; and 2011 Lebanon Area Fair Queen Lydia Eberly also shared their experiences with the program.

Chloe Bomgardner was 16 when she ran for fair queen. She said the experience prepared her to run for state fair queen, which allowed her to advocate for girls not just in Lebanon County but across the commonwealth. It also prepared her to serve as president of the Pennsylvania FFA Foundation and pursue an agricultural communications degree.

Voight was 18 when she ran for fair queen. Serving as fair queen and state fair queen helped her to become more self-aware and adept at juggling responsibilities, interacting with different types of people, and speaking in front of crowds. These skills served her as a student at Penn State University and now as a first-grade teacher and girls’ basketball coach.

Eberly was 17 when she ran for fair queen. Through the experience, she learned how to be a good representative of herself and her county’s fair, which has helped her to be a good representative of her business, LE’s Cupcakes. The now-mother also learned how to promote herself and her cause in the community and celebrate her peers’ accomplishments.

When asked to encourage girls considering running for fair queen, Beamesderfer responded, “I would say just do it. … Andrea and Ashley are great. You have the opportunity to be creative and bring your ideas to life, all while serving your community and promoting our fair and the bigger picture, which is agriculture.”

Coriana Bomgardner echoed this sentiment to LebTown: “Definitely, if you are somebody who wants to come out, that’s not very much sure, just come out and do it because there’s no harm in just running. There’s no harm in just seeing what the program’s all about.”

To learn more about the Lebanon Area Fair Queen and Princess program, visit the Queen & Princess Competition page on the fair’s website or contact Beamesderfer by calling the Lebanon Area Fair office or Harrell by emailing aharrell3@yahoo.com.