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Brittany Birt heads to State Fair pageant
For the first time in its 58 years, the Indiana State Fair did not hold its fair queen competition during the fair in August, but scheduled the event for the weekend of Jan. 2-4 to allow for a less chaotic schedule among other benefits.
Having been crowned the Putnam County Fair Queen in August, Brittany Birt will compete at the first-ever January crowning against 84 other contestants.
Earning the title of 2014 Putnam County Queen was a dream come true for Birt.
"I know that I always looked up to the queen so I can't wait to have that experience where little girls come up to me and say, 'I want to be just like you,' because I always wanted that and I finally got my wish. I just want that for those little ones," Birt told the Banner Graphic after being crowned.
"It's just an honor to be Miss Putnam County. It's just amazing."
In competing for the title of Miss Indiana State Fair, Birt will be judged by a panel of three judges across three main events: an interview, a formal wear competition and a professional wear competition.
Judges will whittle down from 85 to 10 finalists during the final judging on Sunday.
Reigning state queen Alyssa Garnett will crown the winner of the pageant on Sunday, having held the position since August of 2013.
The decision to move the event to January was discussed for several years and was not made by the fair board hastily.
"Increasingly there has been more talk about how rushed everything is," Indiana State Fair Public Relations Director Andy Klotz said.
With 4-H events and many of the pageant competitors leaving to go to college, sometimes as soon as the day after the competition, the January schedule allows for a more relaxed environment.
"We ultimately made the decision to move the event to be in conjunction with the annual fair meeting. We don't have to rush things on the fairgrounds now because typically when the pageant has been held at the fair, people had to be shooed out immediately (to make way for other events)," Klotz explained.
It also gives contestants more time to prepare for the pageant.
The January timeline does involve some trade-offs that the fair board is aware of.
In exchange for a less chaotic and rushed atmosphere, the pageant is not surrounded by the energy of the fair itself, something that the fair board believes is overshadowed by the other benefits of a first-of-the-year pageant.
The competition will also be the first pageant to be held at the state fairgrounds newly renovated coliseum.
"We're definitely looking forward to the new atmosphere," Indiana State Fair Public Relations Director Andy Klotz said about the new arena. "It should just be a lot nicer atmosphere in there and we think people will really appreciate it."
Persons with questions or interested in more information on the event may visit the Indiana State Fair website at www.in.gov/statefair/entertainment or contact the fairgrounds by telephone at 317-927-7500.