By Madi Kregel, OCJ field reporter
Every year in January, around 80 of Ohio’s finest young junior and independent fair queens gather in Columbus for a chance to win the ultimate title of the Ohio Fairs’ Queen at the Ohio Fair Managers Association (OFMA) Convention. While the 2020 Ohio Fairs’ Queen Contest went on just as previous years had (three months before the pandemic hit), the 2021 Ohio Fairs’ Queen contest is going to look fairly different than years past and feature changes allowing the candidates to participate in person, all while optimizing social distancing requirements.
The 2021 OFMA Virtual Convention went on as planned, starting in early January with a variety of events on Zoom. Virtual OFMA workshops and seminars continue through February and into March. For a schedule see the OFMA December Newsletter at ohiofairs.org/newsletters/2020-12-newsletter.pdf. While most of the convention is being held virtually, for the safety of the queen candidates and an effort to provide an in-person event, the OFMA pushed back the to contest closer to spring. Mackenzie Hoog, the 2020 Ohio Fairs’ Queen, gave some insight on the contest and what it is expected to look like.