Miss Baxter 2012!: Crow Wing County Fair, Miss Aitkin, Night to Unite!

This week I’ve learned to always wear boots when walking in the mud, that I really do love speaking; especially if it’s with a microphone in front of an audience, and that driving drunk is scary even if it’s only simulated…here’s what I’ve been up too!

Thursday August 2^nd was my third day at the Crow Wing County Fair. As always the cheese curds were frying and the midway rides were whirling, however on that night people were appearing in droves; this could only mean one thing…Baja Races! Before the race Savannah, Heather and I were given the chance to walk onto the track and introduce ourselves. This was no easy task as the track was loaded with thick mud and dirt; by the time we made it to the middle of the track my feet and sandals were caked with muck. (Now I know why everyone was wearing boots!) We were then able to introduce ourselves to the crowd, and we were the “celebrity” judges of the applause based “best appearing car” award! The Baja Races were certainly a fun and muddy event!

Friday August 3^rd was by far my most fun, and most busy day at the fair! At 1:00 Heather and I started by emceeing the pre-teen talent show with Billy Holiday aka Wild Bill from B93.3 today’s best country. After the pre-teen show Savannah and I were able to do a quick costume change and sound check before we preformed our talents to open the teen portion of the talent show. After our performances we hurried backstage to change out of our costumes (and we took a quick break in the air conditioning!) then it was back to emceeing with Billy! After the teen competition I had the opportunity to judge the open class talent show… I enjoyed emceeing so much that I really didn’t want to hand over the mic, but I knew that judging would be fun too. However it turned out to be very tough because we had such gifted contenders in the competition, now I finally know what it feels like to be in the hot seat! During the talent show I even had the chance to be on radio while chatting with Wild Bill on B93.3! After the fair I was quickly whisked away to the neighboring town of Aitkin to watch their pageant! The pageant was beautifully staged, and was a fun one to watch because of all the diverse talents including auctioneering, watercolor demonstration, hairstyling and photography! Congratulations to the local queen and princesses, and best wishes to the out-going Aitkin royalty.

Finally tonight was the 7^th annual Night to Unite in Baxter’s Oscar Kristofferson Park. Night to Unite is a community event that desires to bring neighbors together with local law enforcement to promote awareness and crime prevention in the area. During the night we got to see karate demonstrations, first aid and CPR instructions, taser demonstrations and a presentation by Officer Matt Maier and his canine Gator a Belgian Malinois! After the presentation Savannah and I were able to meet Gator and officer Maier to learn more about the K9 unit and Gator’s job. Savannah and I also had the opportunity to drive golf carts through a course while wearing goggles that impaired our vision; these goggles simulated driving under the influence of alcohol… boy was that scary! I never took out a cone on the course but I think the officer that I rode with thought that I was going to crash our cart! During the night other activities included face painting and games for the kids, what a fun night with the community of Baxter and its local law enforcement!