POINT PLEASANT — Three local members of royalty will compete against dozens of others this weekend when they travel to Charleston for an annual state competition.

Sahana Birchfield, 2008 Point Pleasant Sternwheel Regatta Queen, Katrina Keefer, 2008 Mason County Fair Queen, and Payton Whitt, 2008 Point Pleasant Battle Days Queen, will participate in the 2009 West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals Pageant Jan. 15-17 at the Charleston Civic Center, according to Aimee Stein, director of the fair queen pageant.

Stein added that the local young women will be competing against approximately 80 contestants representing various fairs and festivals throughout the state.

The pageant consists of four areas of competition — event promotion, streetwear, personal interview and evening gown — and will culminate in the crowning of the 2009 West Virginia Fairs and Festivals Queen, who will reign over the West Virginia State Fair in Lewisburg.

Birchfield will be accompanied by members of the Regatta Committee and many friends and family, while Keefer will be accompanied by Stein and Andrea Henderson, who also directs the Mason County Fair Queen Pageant, as well as many friends and family and representatives of Ohio Valley Bank and the Mason County Fair Board. Whitt will be accompanied by Brandy Barkey, pageant director of the Battle Days Pageant, along with friends and family members.

Also attending the state pageant this year will be Hannah Perry of Point Pleasant, who will be representing the Barboursville Fall Fest, Soni Huffman of Point Pleasant, representing the Sutton Fall Fest, and Stacey Gleason of Point Pleasant, representing the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival.

It is a weekend to which the young women and those accompanying them are eagerly looking forward.

“The girls work really hard preparing for this pageant. I am certain they will make Mason County proud,” Stein said.

Henderson echoed Stein’s sentiments.

“I wish everyone in Mason County could see how well the girls represent not only our county, but also their fair or festival. They get the word out about our festivals and make us proud of who we are and where we are from,” she said.

The competition takes place in various stages, beginning Friday with the streetwear competition, where contestants will be judged on natural beauty, poise and presentation, and the event promotion, where contestants will be judged on a 30-second presentation about their event.

Saturday’s events include the judges’ interviews, during which each contestant will be interviewed by a panel of judges. At that time, the judges will consider poise, personality and natural beauty. Contestants also will participate in the evening gown competition, where judging again will be based on poise, personality and natural beauty.

At the conclusion of the fourth phase of competition, 15 semi-finalists will be chosen and interviewed from their fact sheets, with one eventually being crowned as the 2009 West Virginia Fairs and Festivals Queen.

Anyone who wants to attend the pageant may purchase a ticket at the box office Saturday for balcony seating only.