News : Iowa State Fair - Attend or watch the Benton County Fair Queen at the Coronation

Benton County's 2022 Fair Queen Annabelle Newton will be competing in the annual Iowa State Fair Queen competition, held during the Iowa State Fair.

The queens from each county fair from all over the state of Iowa come together to vie for the coveted crown. Judging is based on personality, attitude, leadership, citizenship, contribution to community, overall appearance, charm and poise.

The event will be held at the Anne and Bill Riley Stage on Saturday August 13 at 7:00 PM. If you plan to be at the fair that weekend, stop and support our Annabelle Newton the Benton County Fair Queen!

Iowa PBS will also be covering the event. This year's programming begins Wednesday, August 10 at 6:15 p.m. with a live broadcast of the 2022 Iowa State Fair Parade and includes the 2022 Iowa State Fair Queen Coronation, livestreamed on YouTube, Facebook and iowapbs.org Saturday, August 13 at 7 p.m. and broadcast on statewide Iowa PBS Sunday, August 14 at 6:30 p.m. Coverage continues nightly at 9 p.m. August 15-20 with Fair 2022 and concludes Sunday, August 21 at 6:30 p.m. with the State Fair Talent Championship 2022. Follow Iowa PBS across social media for daily questions, quizzes and a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes action. (Here's the link to watch on Facebook Live!)

Newton will be a senior at Vinton-Shellsburg High School this fall, and active in Cross Country, Track, National Honor Society, and FFA. She is the 2022-23 Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter President as well as the Northeast District Reporter.
Outside of school she is part of the Benton County 4-H Youth Council, serving as the Co-Vice President, and she is also a member of the Jackson Better Farmers 4-H Club where she exhibits swine. In her spare time she is active within the community by volunteering as a part of the Black and Gold Hour program.

Annabelle Newton, is the daughter of Chad and Kim Newton and sister to Sophia.