New royalty was crowned in Carlinville on Wednesday evening as 18-year-old Ruby Lowder of Girard was selected as the 2026 Miss Macoupin County Fair Queen.<\/p>\n
Lowder was chosen from among 10 contestants, and right before the new queen was announced, she had no idea whose name would be called.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, it could be any one of us,’\u201d an emotional Lowder said as she greeted well-wishers after the pageant. \u201cAll of the contestants worked so hard for this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lowder is looking forward to her reign as the Macoupin County Fair Queen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so happy that I\u2019ll be able to make an impact for my community,\u201d Lowder said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to promoting all that Macoupin County has to offer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Macoupin County Fair in Carlinville began its annual run on Monday and concludes this weekend. Queen Ruby will reign over the remainder of this year\u2019s fair and help to open the 2027 fair. She will also compete with more than 70 other queens at the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant in Springfield during January 2027<\/p>\n
Macoupin County Fair Pageant Director Hilary Lunt explained what\u2019s in store for the new queen.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer first role is to represent the Macoupin County Fair, but more importantly to represent agriculture here in the county,\u201d Lunt said. \u201cShe will travel the state showing everyone how proud we are of our county.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n