"The whole thing is a blur to me,” said Annandale’s Kristal Sawatzke, the newly crowned Fairest of the Fair for the Wright County Fair. “You’re up there shaking before it happens, then it happens and there are hugs and a smile is just plastered to your face.” Sawatzke was crowned Fairest of the Fair on Wednesday, July 27, at the fairgrounds in Howard Lake. She was one of 13 candidates competing for the title; two others were from Annandale as well. Originally from the Howard Lake-Waverly area, Sawatzke and her family have been familiar faces at the Wright County Fair for years. She started showing horses and rabbits through 4-H when she was just 7 years old. Though she did not grow up on a farm, her grandmother lived nearby and always had enough room on her farm to house her and her siblings’ animals. “I developed so many life skills in 4-H, although I didn’t realize it at the time,” she said. She learned the responsibility required to care for her animals, showmanship and enhanced her public speaking skills through 4-H judging practices, which require the student to give information about their animal. But 4-H isn’t all Sawatzke loves about the fair. Her favorite event is the demolition derby. “It’s very exciting and fun,” she said. “Everyone goes, so it is a fun get-together.” Heart set on title Sawatzke has had her heart set on a title since she was a little girl and caught her first glimpse of the royalty as they strolled around the fairgrounds in their tiaras and sashes. At first she had aspirations of becoming Miss Waverly, but when her family moved to Annandale two years ago, those hopes were dashed. Although she still attended school in the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted district, and plans to graduate from HLWW in 2006, she no longer qualified. That’s when she started seriously looking into the Fairest of the Fair program. “I saw how good the program is and I realized I would so much rather run in this one,” she said. The program has already had a lasting effect on her. She has met new friends, and in 2007 she will have the chance to run for the Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes title. “I’m very excited about it,” she said. The way to Fairest of the Fair wasn’t easy for Sawatzke. The competition was tough. The 17-year-old was up against “very capable girls” – most of them older than her – from all over the county. “They all could have represented the fair so well,” she said. Wright County Fair judges rate candidates on stage presence, speaking skills, personality, poise and interest and knowledge of the fair. But it’s now, after coronation, that the real work begins. Sawatzke and her two princesses, Rustie Johnson of Waverly and Emily Dahlman of Cokato, will be asked to represent Wright County at area festivals and fairs starting next week. In fact, their first fair is Thursday, Aug. 4, in Meeker County. “It (the Fairest of the Fair program) is a wonderful opportunity to meet so many other people and represent the fair,” Sawatzke said. “And it’s so much fun. It’s our second day already and we’re still all smiles.”
