The 2023 Warren County Fair Queen has been selected, as Hanna Bedwell from New Virginia was crowned over the weekend. Bedwell was selected among three participants, with Dailynn Phinney and Sydney Septer making up the rest of the court.
Bedwell will now preside over numerous activities throughout this year’s fair, and will compete in the State Fair Queen competition in August. Find more information below.
Bedwell submission letter
Why do you want to be the Warren County Fair Queen?
Since I was 16 years old, or really since I was born, I have thought about running for the Warren County Fair Queen. Almost 20 years ago I wanted to be at the fair so much that I decided I needed to be born a week early. My mother was watching the cattle show at the fair and I knew I needed to be there. She had her shaved ice by afternoon and a baby by the evening. It may have been a year later when I could actually go, but you bet I was there. The fairs, especially the Warren County Fair and Iowa State Fair, run through my blood like most of the people in my family. I used to call the fair my favorite holiday. That is before my parents finally told me it was not an actual holiday. They could have fooled me as it has everything a holiday needs- family, tradition, and food. I truly love the fair and want to be part of it as the fair queen.
On more of a serious note, the only thing that has kept me from running until now is that I was so heavily involved in the fair and I did not think it would be fair of me to be the queen and not to give my all to being the queen. Running now means that I can focus on being the queen each and every moment of the Warren County Fair. My time in the show ring as an exhibiter may have come to an end, but being the fair queen now shows others that they can still be part of the fair even after they are done exhibiting in 4-H and FFA.
Now that I am not showing at the fair since I have aged out, I can now give all my time to being the queen. I feel that being the Warren County Fair Queen is a great opportunity to advocate for agriculture, especially to young girls. The fair queen has the opportunity to show youth that women can have such an influential part in agriculture by being a voice for the fair and agriculture. I want to show the community how wonderful our fair is, how important agriculture is to everyone, and celebrate the youth of the fair. Being the Warren County Fair Queen means that I will be able to do all that while being at the best place on earth- the Warren County Fair. It would be a tremendous honor representing Warren County as their fair queen in 2023.