Fair week begins next Tuesday with the Hamilton County Fair kicking off the activities on Tuesday with the Hamilton County Fair parade starting at 5:30 p.m.

The Hamilton County Fair Foundation meal and beer garden will be held at the fairgrounds at the end of the parade.

The Hamilton County Fair Queen will be crowned on Tuesday evening at the Grandstand, with the ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m.

Six Hamilton County young women will be competing for the title of the Hamilton County Fair queen. They are Olivia Bergman, Rosie Collins, Sophia Nibe, Delaney Paulson, Samantha Tilley and Megan VanDeer. Each of these young ladies have been active in many activities in both their school and through FFA and 4-H.

Olivia Bergman

Olivia Bergman is the 16 year old daughter of Therese and Ben Bergman of Stratford. She attends Webster City High School and is active in girls tennis, student council, dance marathon and the prom committee. She is also in 4-H and serves on the county council, and is involved with work based learning at Pleasantview school. She is also a junior counselor at Hidden Acres Christian Center and works at Riverview daycare.

She plans to attend college and major in early elementary education, with a minor in special education.

“I would love to be the Hamilton County Fair Queen because I love our community and would love to share that love and watch it grow by being the Hamilton County Fair queen. I also think it is a great opportunity to meet new people and show how great our county is.”

Rosie Collins

Rosie Collins is 17 years old and is the daughter of Liz Collins and Ben Collins. She lives in Stratford and attended the South Hamilton Community Schools. During the school year, she was involved in theater, sang in the choir and is the FCCLA District and chapter President. She is also involved with the FFA, worked on the blood drive, farm safety, worked in the FFA garden, helped clean up when disasters hit, participated in livestock judging and fruit sales.

She has also been on the 4-H county council, helped with Watermelon days, Clover kids, is a teen camp counselor, and helps serve at the Wednesday Night in the Park with her church.

She is looking at an Ag related career, with a minor in criminal justice.

“I believe I should be fair queen because I am passionate about agriculture, committed to serving my community, and dedicated to being a positive role model for others. Through 4-H, FFA iJag, FCCla, I have developed leadership, responsibility and communication skills that would help me represent as fair queen. I would be honored to serve as fair queen for my community.”

Sophia Nibe

Sophia Nibe is the 18 year old daughter of Daniel and Jennifer Nibe of Ellsworth. She attended the South Hamilton High School and was involved in FFA, FCCLA , FBLA, band, choir, theater, speech, cheerleading, dance and golf. She is involved with the youth group at Bethesda Lutheran Church in addition to 4H. She has helped with Clover Kids events, hosted at the 4-H exhibit building, and brought many different projects to the fair through 4-H. She was the State 4-H council member from 2024-2026, was on the county council, and served in every position in the Clear Lake Sailors 4-H Club.

She will be attending the University of Iowa to major in health sciences, and hopes to become a pediatric occupational therapist.

“The Hamilton County Fair is one of my favorite times of the year. I love being surrounded by my community and I believe that the fair showcases some of the amazing talent that we have in Hamilton County. I love being able to give back to my community, grow my leadership skills and I want to continue my involvement in the Hamilton County Fair. I hope to inspire younger girls to help out their community, get involved and become good leaders.”

Delaney Paulson

Delaney Paulson is 18 years old and lives in Boone with her parents Chris and Amanda Paulson. She attended Roland-Story High School where she was active in track and field, volleyball, trap shooting, Roland-Story FFA and National Honor Society. She is a member of the WL4G youth group at the Stratford First Baptist Church. She has been attending and showing livestock at the Hamilton County Fair and has been in the Hamilton County 4-H club, Stratford Spirit for 9 years. She has been on the county council, has helped set up during the fair weeks, and has held the offices of secretary, historian, vice president and secretary.

She plans to attend ISU majoring in agricultural studies.

“I would like to be the Hamilton County Fair Queen because I have been actively involved in the Hamilton County Fair for many years, and it would be a great honor to represent Hamilton County The Hamilton County Fair has played a huge part in my life and I have had so many great experiences, learned many new things and met so many new people that have had a great impact on my life. I believe that it would help me learn new skills, but would also help me apply the skills that I have learned through my years participating in 4-H.”

Samantha Tilley

Samantha Tilley is the 17 year old daughter of Derek and Donette Tilley of Stratford. She attended the South Hamilton High School where she was involved in FFA, iJag, FCCLA, speech, choir, band, honor bands, All State Orchestra, jazz band, as well as the manager of the concession stand for the softball and baseball seasons. She helps with Sunday school, helps serve lunch at local vendor events, volunteers for the Alumni banquet, Stratford on the Loose festival, food drives and fundraisers. She has served on county council, State 4-H council, worked with Clover Kids, Bucket Bottle animal program and attended the National 4-H Congress in Georgia.

She plans to attend Iowa State University for a career in veterinary sciences.

“As Hamilton County Fair Queen, I would like to be able to share the importance of 4-H. How important it is to be in an organization such as 4-H and FFA. To share with younger members that the opportunities are endless and you just have to find them and not to be afraid to do what others will not do. I want to share how much being in 4-H and FFA has impacted my life and helped me grow in just a few short years.”

Megan VanDeer

Megan VanDeer is 17 years old and is the daughter of Brent and Lisa VanDeer of Webster City. She attended Webster City High school where she was involved in Volleyball, cross country, basketball, soccer, softball, FFA, band, jazz band, student council, dance marathon and the National Honor Society. She is also involved in Youth Rotary and 4-H and has been a member of the Freedom Flickers 4-H club for eight years. She has been the assistant treasurer and secretary in FFA and in 4-H she has been the historian and reporter and is now the current club president.

She plans to attend a community college to major in pre-vet before transferring to a university for veterinarian education.

“I want to be the next Hamilton County Fair queen because I would love the opportunity to represent our county at the State Fair and many other events. I would share my love and passion for the county fair, and all the traditions that I love being a part of every year. Being the fair queen would allow me to meet new people and encourage them to get involved in as many different ways possible because they never know what they will enjoy about the fair.”

The young lady who is crowned on Tuesday night will not only serve as queen throughout the fair in 2026, she will also compete for the title of the Iowa State Fair Queen next month at the Iowa State Fair.