Macoupin County welcomes all to 2022 fair
Moyer, Isaacs and Roberts named 2022 Macoupin County royalty
The 2021 Macoupin County royalty stand beside the newly crowned 2022 royalty at the end of Wednesday nights pageant. From left are Junior Miss Macoupin County 2021 Gracee Menge, Miss Macoupin County 2021 Emily Barr, Little Miss Macoupin County Amelia Jaeger, Miss Macoupin County 2022 MacKenzie Moyer, Little Miss Macoupin County 2022 Sadie Roberts and Junior Miss Macoupin County 2022 Kennedi Isaacs. Enquirer~Democrat photo by Erin Sanson.
By ERIN SANSON
Enquirer~Democrat Reporter
The 170th Macoupin County Fair took place over the week of June 7-11. The festivities began on Tuesday with the opening night harness racing activity and closed Saturday with the Demolition Derby. Fair-goers of all ages enjoyed the rides and games open in the mid-way, while others were present to eat their favorite fair foods and watch the multitude of events offered over the course of the week.
Macoupin County Queen Pageant
The Miss Macoupin County contestants group together for photos during the evening gown portion of the program. Enquirer~Democrat photo by Erin Sanson.
On Wednesday night, the carnival officially opened and hundreds flocked to the carnival to enjoy themselves. Wednesday night also saw the Macoupin County Queen pageant hosted in the grandstand area.
The event was put together by pageant director Hilary Lunt and the help of many volunteers and former Queens. Will Lunt was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.
MacKenzie Raelyn Moyer, the daughter of Ron and Angela Clarkson, of Carlinville was awarded the title of Miss Macoupin County 2022. Moyer is 21 and is currently attending Milliken University in Decatur, where she will be a senior this academic year. Moyer graduated from Carlinville High School in 2019 and plans to graduate college with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing with future plans to work in pediatrics. She is the 63rd Macoupin County Queen with the pageant beginning in 1959.
The Junior Miss Macoupin County title went to Kennedi Isaacs of Benld. Isaacs is the daughter of Melissa Zirkelbach. Isaacs was also voted to be the Junior Miss Congeniality of the pageant. Issacs is 13 and will be entering the 8th grade at Gillepsie Middle School. She is active in many school activities including volleyball, golf, and student council. She also enjoys cleaning andf organizing, gardening and making new recipes. Isaacs is only the 14th Junior Miss for Macoupin County, as that age group is the newest beginning in only 2008.
The Little Miss is Sadie Roberts, the daughter of Seth and Whitney Roberts of Carlinville. Sadie is 7-years-old and will be entering the 2nd grade at Carlinville Primary School in August. Roberts says she enjoys boating, mushroom hunting and going on vacation. When she grows up Roberts hopes to become a veterinarian. Roberts is the 38th Little Miss Macoupin County, with the Little Miss category beginning in 1984.
Other contestants trying for the Little Miss title included, Braylee Frankford who was the third runner up and Hadley Vaughan was named second runner up. The Little Miss first runner up was Nora Meisenheimer.
In the Junior Miss contest, Mary Behme was the third runner up and Heidi Kahl secured the second runner up position. Victoria Collins was announced as the first runner up.
In the Miss contest, Miss Congeniality was awarded to Kieran Weller. The third runner up was Alexandra Henry-Allen and Braylee Gilmore finished as the second runner up. Sara Wiese was named the first runner up.
Demolition Derby
Dennis “Jamers” Jameson is smashed into the wall during his “last ride.” Enquirer~Democrat photo by Erin Sanson.
Fair week closed with the Demolition Derby on Saturday evening. Spectators watched as mud flew, engines smoked and cars crashed, cheering loudly with each hit exchanged.
This was the last ride for long time derby participant Dennis “Jamers” Jameson. He has been a participant in the demolition derby for the past 21 years, and Saturday night was his final derby. Though Jameson did not win either of the two heats he participated in, he received enthusiastic applause and cheers from the crowd celebrating his demo derby legacy.
Other events
Country music artist Craig Morgan rocked this year’s concert at the Macoupin County grandstand the night of June 9. Enquirer~Democrat photo by Jackson Wilson.
Thursday night country music artist Craig Morgan rocked the grandstand with some help from Matt Stell. Friday evening, the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association was at the fairgrounds for the annual truck and tractor pull.
Throughout the week, spectators also enjoyed multiple side shows done by Disc-Connected K9’s. The Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Clydesdale’s were present during the week. They were hitched to the original Budweiser Beer wagon and paraded through the fair on multiple occasions. The full hitch was shown on both Wednesday and Saturday and crowds gathered to watch the process. The horses were otherwise stabled throughout the day with the opportunity for visitors to look but not touch the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales.
