The young women running for this year's royalty at the 29th annual Schuylkill County Fair had their first opportunity to meet each other, introduce themselves to the community and promote the fair during Mini Carnival Night at the Fairlane Village mall Friday evening.
"We just do some things to get the kids in the fair mood," said Kate E. Kline, royalty program coordinator, Valley View.
Kline was the 2005 Fair Queen and started Mini Carnival Night in 2009 to promote the fair and have the girls get to know each other. The girls will also be having a pizza party today.
In the center of the mall, the girls were put into groups and had several stands that included games, face painting, raffle baskets and 2012 fair merchandise.
"We wanted to give them the idea of what it's like to talk to people and help promote the fair," Kline said. "The girls really enjoy it, too."
Before putting the girls into their groups, Kline told them that she will be passing on her role of royalty coordinator to her assistant of several years, Jackie Hoffman, starting Monday.
"It's sad to see it come to an end but I'm excited to see Jackie take over," said Kline, who was coordinator for six years. "The whole thing was to promote something positive in the county for girls and really develop self-confidence. That was the goal and that is what we did with it."
Rhonda Carl, Ashland, one of 17 area high school juniors who competed for the Greater Pottsville Winter Carnival Snowflake Princess, was at the mall Friday as a contestant for this year's Schuylkill County Fair Queen.
"I just want to encourage people to go to the fair because it's a great place for family to go for a fun time and there's a lot to do there," Carl said.
Also at the event Friday were last year's royalty.
"I really enjoyed meeting a lot of new people and finding out a lot about Schuylkill County's heritage," said reigning Fair Princess Paige Fellows, Pottsville.
The reigning royalty said they enjoyed spending time together at all the events they attended this year.
"I enjoyed learning all about Schuylkill County heritage and gaining two new sisters," said reigning Fair Queen Cheyanna Reber, Schuylkill Haven.
Reigning Little Miss Madelyn Rowan, Lake Wynonah, said she especially enjoyed the sleepovers with the Queen and Princess.
"I enjoyed just spending time with my new sisters," Rowan said.
As for advice for this year's contestants, the reigning royalty said for contestants to be themselves and enjoy the experience.
The 29th annual Schuylkill County Fair in Summit Station begins Monday and runs through Aug. 4.
The nine contestants for the title of this year's Little Miss are: Kaylee Yeager, Cressona; Antoinette Antonini, Schuylkill Haven; Meadow Buckmaster, Ringtown; Dakota Heffner, Shenandoah; Rebecca Lascala, Pottsville; Alyssa Buchanan, Frackville; Olivia Weyman, Frackville; Haley Rymarkiewicz, Pottsville; and Riley Powell, Pottsville.
The nine contestants for the title of this year's Princess are: Angelia Yeager, Cressona; Sierra Ward, Barnesville; Julian Mullin, Pottsville; Lexis Harner, Hegins; Olivia Grube, Orwigsburg; Crystal Reber, Schuylkill Haven; Madeline Mae Schuettler, Pottsville; Caitlin Kimmel, Donaldson; and Serena Bennett, Barnesville.
The five contestants for the title of this year's Queen are: Meghan Devlin, Schuylkill Haven; Madalyn Huffman, Schuylkill Haven; Rhonda Carl, Ashland; Emily Field, Pottsville; and Jessie Sara Della Monica, Orwigsburg.