Pictured, from left, are Makenna Lewis, who will be representing the 2012 Point Pleasant Sternwheel Regatta, Lauren Roush, 2012 Point Pleasant Battle Days Queen, Madison Crank, 2012 Mason County Fair Queen. These three young ladies will gather in Charleston this weekend to compete in the West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals Pageant with the hope of being chosen to reign over the West Virginia State Fair.

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MASON COUNTY — This weekend Mason County will be represented by three local young ladies competing in the West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals Pageant, all with the aspiration of reigning over this year’s West Virginia State Fair.

Madison Crank, 2012 Mason County Fair Queen, Lauren Roush, 2012 Point Pleasant Battle Days Queen, and Makenna Lewis, who will be representing the 2012 Point Pleasant Sternwheel Regatta, will all gather in Charleston. The actual competition is Jan. 10-12 at the Charleston Civic Center and Municipal Auditorium.

Crank, Roush and Lewis will be competing with 91 contestants representing various fairs and festivals throughout West Virginia. The pageant consists of three areas of competition, including Event Promotion, Personal Interview and Evening Gown. Saturday evening will culminate in the crowning of the 2013 West Virginia Fairs and Festivals Queen who, again, will reign over the West Virginia State Fair in Lewisburg.

Crank will be accompanied by Aimee Stein and Andrea Henderson, pageant directors of the Mason County Fair Queen Pageant, many friends and family, as well as representatives of Ohio Valley Bank and the Mason County Fair Board. Roush will be accompanied Brandy Barkey, pageant director of the Battle Days Pageant along with friends and family members. Lewis will be accompanied by members of the Regatta committee and many friends and family. Also attending the state pageant this year is Payton Whitt, she will be representing the Clendenin Fall Festival and Kiona Norvell representing Nicholas County Summerfest.

“The girls have worked really hard preparing for this pageant,” Stein said. “We have three very talented and wonderful young ladies representing our county. I am very proud of them. Every one of them has the ability and character to be our state fair queen.”

The event starts on Friday which is the Event Promotion Competition. This is the first phase of competition and will be conducted in the afternoon. During this competition contestants are judged on natural beauty, poise and presentation. Contestants will also be judged by giving a 30 second timed presentation about their event.

Then, Saturday begins with the Judges Interviews. This is the second phase of competition. Each contestant will be interviewed by a panel of judges and at this time, the judges will consider poise, personality, and natural beauty. This will be followed by the Evening Gown Competition which is the third phase of competition. Judging is based on poise, personality and natural beauty.

From the tabulations of the three competitions (event promotion, interview, and evening gown) 15 semi-finalists will be chosen and interviewed from their fact sheets.

There is a Saturday night only ticket for $25 per person for anyone wishing to attend the Saturday night evening gown competition. This ticket is for balcony seating only. The tickets will only be sold at the box office on Jan. 12. Doors will open at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium at 5 p.m.

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