LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
“Your 2024 Little Miss Edgar County is contestant number 15, Ellie Kreiger!”
“Your 2024 Miss Edgar County is contestant number three, Aubrey Lawson!”
Last Sunday, July 21, attendees in the grandstands at the Edgar County Fair heard those words concluding an evening filled with passion and grace at the 65th Edgar County Fair Queen Pageant.
Contestants spent a little over a month preparing for the triumphant night and newly crowned fair queen Aubrey Lawson recognizes the joy that preparation brought.
“Honestly my favorite part of the pageant was preparing and getting to know the other contestants. It was so much fun,” said Lawson. “We spent so much time together over the past month and a half, just getting ready for it. The whole experience was so much fun.”
Little Miss Edgar County, Queen Ellie Kreiger remembers the moment she was crowned and what she told her mom the moment she got off stage.
“I was really excited because I worked so hard. I practiced waving a lot,” she said.
Competing for the queen title wasn’t always an easy decision for Lawson, but with the help of others, she realized the abundance of confidence and experience that girls can gain from participating.
“There are a lot of stereotypes around pageants. Last year, I was going to participate, but I didn’t want to stand in a swimsuit in the middle of Edgar County. I thought it was weird,” she said. “This year, I decided to look past stereotypes. When I started to get into the experience, everybody told me it’s really about your personality and that’s what I came to know. It’s not about your body or objectifying things. It’s just about your character, inner beauty and your concern for the community. It’s about who you are as a person.”
“To any girl that is thinking of participating in a pageant, I would tell them to just go for it. Put your best foot forward, put as much work into it as you can and it’s really rewarding,” she continued.
Lawson grew up in Paris and is active throughout the community in a variety of ways.
“I volunteer playing music at nursing homes. I also volunteered at vacation bible school at my church. I’ve been going to Community Bible Church for about 13 years,” said Lawson. “I play the fiddle in a bluegrass group called Coon Holler Kids. We play at different fairs, festivals and things like that.”
With hopes to bring unique skills and leadership qualities to the crown, Lawson looks forward to the next 365 days as Miss Edgar County.
“I’ve always been taught to represent my family well from a young age. So being able to represent my county is just the next level for me,” she said. “I’m really excited to be the face of my county this year. It is such a privilege. I’ve had past opportunities to represent and learn about leadership and how to lead in your community.”
The fair is always filled with events throughout the week. Besides the night she was crowned, Lawson found excitement at the barnyard scramble Tuesday night.
“We had a lot of fun, all of us queens together, helping the kids and getting dirty ourselves. There wasn’t even any mud, but Kelsie (Dosch) made mud to cover me. It was awesome,” she said.
Along with fair events, pageants and other royalty duties, Kreiger finds joy in one of the simplest activities that make any little girl smile.
“I want to go shopping,” she said
Her mother, Pia Krieger, noted the new Little Miss Edgar County has been having a lot of fun at all of the fair events and spending time with Lawson creates some of her favorite moments.
“We have matching dresses for the girls for a photo shoot. Kreiger is super excited to spend time with Aubrey this year,” said Pia Kreiger.
Special thanks to the pageant director, fair board, past queens and several others were given by both Lawson and Kreiger.
“They have all been so sweet, so supportive. They all helped prepare us for this and it’s been awesome. They’re amazing,” Lawson said.
“They are like our new family. It’s been really fun. They make me feel like a princess,” said Kreiger.
The 2024 Miss Edgar County Fair Queen hopes to leave an impact on her fellow community members during her reign.
“I’m very excited to get to know my community and represent them on a whole new level. I think that my speech encapsulated a lot of how I want to impact the community,” said Lawson. “This fall, I plan on attending Lincoln Trail Community College in Robinson to become a teacher. Hopefully, I will be able to give back to my community in that way.”
In January 2025, Lawson will travel to Springfield, Ill. to represent Edgar County at the Illinois State Fair Queen Pageant. Edgar County has sent a queen to the state pageant for the past 65 years of their pageant’s existence.