After an application, interview and public speaking segment, the 2024 Delaware County Fair king and queen were crowned Saturday afternoon.

Trenton Day, a senior at Olentangy Berlin High School, and Isabelle Lazar, a senior at the Delaware Area Career Center, were selected to serve as fair royalty Saturday by a panel of judges after a short public speaking competition.

As fair king and queen, the pair will spend the rest of the fair handing out awards at shows and will spend the next year traveling to different fairs around the state to represent Delaware County.

After their coronation, the pair said they were excited to have been selected.

“I’m super excited,” Lazar said Saturday. “This is only my second year at the Delaware County Fair (after showing animals in Lancaster for two years), so I’m excited to go out and meet 4-Hers here.”

Day said he’s been showing animals at the fair for seven years and applied because he thought the responsibilities sounded exciting.

“I thought it’d be really fun to go to shows, pass out awards, and go to different fairs. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most,” Day said. “Meeting other (fair) royalty is going to be nice.”

Lazar said she was nervous for the speaking section but is excited about the responsibility of the role.

“I answered to the best of my ability,” Lazar said. “The entire court was great to be around. I interviewed last year to be princess, and I really enjoyed the process of being able to share more about myself. I’m really passionate about representing agriculture and thought this would be the perfect role for me to do that.”

Day said he was nervous but had a more laid-back attitude about the competition.

“I figured whatever happens, it would be alright,” Day said.

The king and queen both added they are looking forward to The Little Brown Jug on Thursday.

“I’m the most excited for The Jug,” Day said. “I’ve never been down here for it.”

Lazar agreed added it will also be her first Little Brown Jug.

“I’m excited to see what the environment is like and meet new people,” she said.

The coronation marked the end of royalty status for Zane Melvin and Paris Anderson, who presented the crowns at the event on Saturday.

Melvin is currently studying business analytics at Ohio University and said his year as fair king is something he won’t forget.

“I have done sheep showing at Delaware County, the state fair, and nationals since I was a little kid and it kinda created a bubble of security within me and my family,” Melvin said. “I did not know if that was like that at other places when I first started my term. Going around to different clubs and county fairs showed me that there are bubbles just like that everywhere. Being able to talk to other kids and public figures about 4-H and livestock helped me realize that 4-H is a community wherever you may be.”

Melvin added he’s “greatly appreciative” he was able to serve as the county’s fair king, and he wished Day the best of luck over the next year as the new fair king.

“This past year has been amazing,” Anderson said. “I visited more fairs than I can count on two hands. My favorite part about that was being able to connect with people that have the same passion for agriculture. I was able to relate to people and make friends with the same passion.”

Anderson said she was proud to speak about and represent agriculture throughout the year.

“I loved being able to spread the word about agriculture,” she said. “One in seven jobs in Ohio are related to ag. We are the youth of that agriculture.”

Anderson, a senior at Big Walnut, said she plans to study food science at Ohio State University next year and said she’s sad her time as fair queen has ended.

“This past year has been so amazing,” Anderson said. “I’m excited to see where the new queen takes royalty. I’m a little sad to see my crown get retired, but I’m excited to watch them grow.”

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.