Bellefonte senior crowned 2025 Grange Fair Queen as ‘best days of summer’ begin
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- Grace Novosel named 2025 Centre County Grange Fair Queen during ceremony
- Novosel credited family traditions, agriculture and fair culture in her speech
- Grange Fair opens Friday with tents, livestock, rides and community events
A rising senior at the Bellefonte Area School District was crowned the queen of the 151st Grange Fair during a coronation ceremony Wednesday evening.
Grace Novosel, of Howard, is the 2025 Centre County Grange Fair Queen. The daughter of Michael and Billie Jo Novosel, she is active in cheerleading, Future Farmers of America, National Honor Society, Girl Scouts and 4-H livestock judging. She plans to pursue a bachelor of science degree in agricultural education and extension.
Novosel was one of two girls competing for the title of fair queen. Penns Valley Area School District graduate AnneLea Barger, of Spring Mills, is the queen alternate. She is the daughter of Todd and Crystal Barger.
Novosel’s speech on why she loves the Grange Fair took the audience on her favorite childhood ride, the carousel.
“As I patiently stand in line, I become excited thinking about what this year’s Grange Fair will have in store for us. After all, it is the best days of summer. As I watch the horses go around, I start to remember all the wonderful family traditions that I’ve experienced here at the fair,” Novosel said.
As she continued her speech, she imagined she was on the perfect carousel horse, going up and down on the ride to see the fair from different angles. In every direction she looked, she said she found opportunities for new family traditions to begin.
“As my horse starts to go up in the air, I can see the tops of hundreds of tents. These highly coveted tents house over 1,000 families who get invited to come back year after year. They bring everything that they need — from the front porch to the kitchen sink,” she said. “It’s the only tenting fair left in the nation, and the waiting list was so long that they stopped taking names. On the outskirts of the tents, you will find rows of campers, 1,500 give or take a few, in all shapes and sizes.”
She highlighted different parts of the fair, from the exhibit buildings, the new horse barns and arena, livestock barns, the grandstand and even the trams that help transport people from one end of the fair to the other.
“Leonard Rhone knew he had a great idea by organizing that first ‘Granger’s Pic-nik’ in 1874. Their mission was to serve the community, to help promote agriculture and economic growth, and that is exactly what Grange Fair continues to do today,” she said. “Our fair is flourishing with opportunities rooted in agriculture, where your family can continue family traditions or start new ones.”
The 2024 Grange Fair Queen Kryslynn Ronk, of Spring Mills, was there to crown Novosel and give her final speech as fair queen.
In her speech, Ronk she recalled the night she was crowned queen, she barely slept because she was so excited to get up and put the “beautiful crown” back on.
“I truly couldn’t believe that I had won the title of queen. I even had to pinch myself several times during fair week to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, and of course, I wasn’t,” Ronk said. “I’ve had an amazing and unforgettable year representing my fair. It was truly a privilege spreading the word about our fair. And some of my favorite events during fair week would have been riding the six-horse hitch, judging the horse stalls and their costumes, and doing the chicken dance with J.A. the librarian. But to be completely honest, there wasn’t an event I didn’t love.”
She went to 48 events as Grange Fair Queen. She thanked many people who she said helped to make this last year possible, with an extra special thank you to her mom.
Toward the end of her speech, she shared a message for the next fair queen.
“To the next Centre County Grange Fair Queen: You have been chosen for a reason. Represent this fair with pride and grace and poise. You have everything inside of you to be the queen you are. You have the entire community behind you. So, don’t blink. Take it all in. It truly goes by so fast,” she said, tearfully.
Novosel said she’s most looking forward to continuing meeting the “wonderful people” at the fair and making more memories.
And what is the new Grange Fair Queen looking forward to eating the most at the fair this week?
“Probably chicken on a stick,” she said.
The Grange Fair kicks off on Friday and runs through Aug. 23. For more information, visit grangefair.com.
