Effingham County Fair Opens Saturday

Seven young ladies will be vying for the 2024 Miss Effingham County Fair Queen crown.

This year's contestants are 21-year-old Alexis Ordner, daughter of Tim and Erin Ordner of Teutopolis; 17-year-old Korina Hecht, daughter of Tim and Jennifer Hecht of Effingham; 20-year-old Krista Phillips, daughter of Glen and Jeni Phillips of Effingham; 18-year-old Peyton Garrard, daughter of Brian and Ame Garrard of Altamont; 18-year-old Kyra Wagner, daughter of Amy Merritt and Ronnie Merritt, Jr. of Altamont; 20-year-old Kyandra Zerrusen, daughter of Tasha and Matt Verdeyen and Nate and Marcy Zerrusen of Effingham; and 17-year-old Ellie Macklin, daughter of Jay and Emily Macklin of Effingham.

The pageant will be held on Tuesday evening, July 30, at 7pm. In addition to the queen pageant, 30 girls will be a part of the Little Miss event on Tuesday evening.

The winner of the queen pageant will compete in January at the Miss Illinois County Fair Pageant in Springfield. The winner in January will serve as queen of the 2025 Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair.

The queen pageant is one of many events at this year's fair, which officially opens on Saturday. This is the 80th year for the fair at its current location at Altamont.

Harness racing is scheduled Sunday at noon due to a 12-heat card, and Monday through Friday with a 1pm post time. If you can't attend, every day of the racing program can be heard on KJ Country 102.3 and www.kjcountry.com. 

A big part of a busy Sunday at the fair is the parade. This year's theme is "Celebrating 80 Years Together". The procession will leave the Altamont Community High School parking lot at 4:15pm to arrive in front of the grandstand at 4:30pm. All entrants should meet in front of the high school between 2:45pm and 3pm to be eligible for awards. Pre-registration is required for judged entries and must be received by midnight tonight. For additional information regarding the parade, phone 618-214-9386 or email parade@effinghamcountyfair.com. Online registration is preferred.

Friday night, August 2, is concert night at this year's fair. The headliner is Gabby Barrett, best known for her monster hit, "I Hope". Barrett's style is suited to a variety of music fans as her songs have crossed over in the pop market as well as country. The opening act is Walker Montgomery, son of country star John Michael Montgomery and nephew of Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry. Montgomery has received a lot of attention for his self-written song, "Simple Town". The concert will begin at 7:30pm. 

A reminder that we will have 4-H judging results from the fair, beginning tomorrow and continuing throughout fair week at 8:45am on KJ Country 102.3.