There will be eight contestants to be the 2026 Marion County Fair Queen.
We’ll take to two of the candidate each day this week prior to the queen contest in front of the Marion County Fair Grandstand next Monday evening.
Contestant #1 is Kinzie Coffee. She was an early graduate of Salem Community High School and attended school this year at Kaskaskia College. She plans to transfer to Maryville University in St. Louis in the fall with a double major of early childhood and elementary education. Coffee was also a contestant in 2025 and explains why she returned.
“I had so much fun last year, just meeting new people, and getting out of my shell. Being confident on the stage because I know it’s really hard to be in front of a crowd of people. I know some girls also struggle with that and I am really happy the girls get to experience that and come out of their shell. My hardest part is memorizing stuff, but overall it’s a good experience. None of its hard. I mean speech, now memorizing that’s a little hard, but other than that it’s been a great experience for sure.”
Coffee says she will give it her best, but will be happy no matter who is crowned the new queen.
Contestant number two is Madison Thrash of Salem. She graduated from Salem Community High School in the spring and plans to attend Kaskaskia College in nursing in the fall. Thrash is a first time contestant.
“So I would say the positive so far is all the girls, they are super nice and I really like all of them. It’s just such a great opportunity to get better interview skills and learn how to speak better. Things I’m not looking forward to. Hopefully, I don’t trip on stage, I’m super nervous about that. Other than that, I’m super excited and ready for the pageant.”
We’ll talk to two more candidates on Tuesday.
