As the end of Fayette County Fair Queen Alex Kent’s reign draws near, there’s still a lot to do before she passes her crown to the 2026-27 queen in waiting. Among the items on Kent’s “to-do” list of high importance, she hopes to help further shape young lives and potentially pave the way for a future fair queen or princess.
“I am starting a new program for local youth called the Future Queen Workshop, which will be two-hour program I will be hosting on Wednesday at the fairgrounds,” explained Kent. “My immediate goal with this project was to create an opportunity for young girls to build confidence, develop leadership skills, make new friends, and learn more about the Fayette County Fair Queen program. Long term, I hope that this experience can help shape young lives by helping make memories or teaching them something they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
The workshop will take place from 4-6 p.m. at the Fayette County Fairgrounds’ Dance Pavilion and is open to any girl under the age of 13.
“Part of the duty of every Fayette County Fair Queen is to complete a service project during their year of serving,” continued Kent. “I am unique from almost every other Fayette County Fair Queen in the program’s history because I am not involved in 4-H or animal showing, which is typically where most girls focus their projects since its important to them. I wanted to come up with a project that would have the same kind of importance to me personally and also be able to help provide something for others, so after some brainstorming, I came up with this idea.”
Over the past several months, Alex has been working on developing a curriculum for her workshop which would be fun and worthwhile for group of girls of various ages.
“The workshop will include several fun activities, along with leadership lessons, confidence-building opportunities, and so much more,” she elaborated. “Even though its called the Future Queen Workshop, it doesn’t mean participants have to be aspiring candidates – I just want it to be a fun afternoon with friends that will hopefully teach them something new or help them discover something new about themselves.”
Among the activities planned for the afternoon will be making cards for residents of local nursing homes, which Kent will deliver prior to the start of the fair next week, along with various leadership activities, crown decorating, and much more. There will also be a catered meal courtesy of West Union Police Chief Paul Becthold.
“I have enlisted the help of several other past royalty and contestants in this year’s competition, who will help lead the different age groups and will also each share their own experiences surrounding the competition or their time as serving as a queen or princess,” she continued. “At the end of the afternoon, I am going to have every girl walk the runway, just as I did when I competed for Iowa Fair Queen at the state fair last year. Before they go, everyone will receive a special certificate recognizing their participation in the first ever Future Queen Workshop.”
Among Kent’s assistants who will help lead the program will be fellow 2025 royalty Deanna Balk (2025 Princess), along with Laci Lauer (2024 Princess), Lily Holthaus (Miss West Union and current candidate), Maggie Jones (at-large candidate), AJ Klusman (at-large candidate), Maria Klimesh (Miss Waucoma candidate), Lainy Donnelly (Miss Clermont candidate), and Hannah Scott (Miss Westgate candidate).
Kent noted she hopes to make this program an annual event, whether it be by returning every summer to lead it herself or passing on the coordinator position to future generations of royalty.
As of last week, there were 20 young participants signed up for the program through preregistration. However, Kent noted that there is still plenty of room for anyone who wants to show up the day of and be a part of the fun. Check-in and registration for anyone not already signed up will begin at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 22. There is a fee for each participant, which will go toward covering the cost of materials and supplies.
“My biggest goal is just that everyone has fun and takes something new home with them when they leave,” closed Kent. “It became evident to me from the moment I was crowned last year just how much many of these girls look up to us, so I want to do everything I can to show them how to be a leader and share with them about what it takes to be a Fayette County Fair Queen.”