Mount Olive sisters say they are ready for the county fair ... again
By Anessa Myers
Published in News on September 24, 2007 1:55 PM
MOUNTOLIVE -- There is only a little less than a week before the opening of the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair. And for most children, that means dreams of cotton candy and Ferris wheels.
But that's not all the annual event means to the Lee sisters of Mount Olive.
For them, the fair is a family, or sisterly, tradition -- and friendly competition, lots of it.
"I like coming back to the fair because it's always a new experience," Micah Lee, 10, said.
Her older sister agreed.
"I like coming back because everything is a little different each year," Hannah, 12, said. "It's a lot of stuff, and it's always really, really fun."
For several years now, the sisters have been involved with numerous contests at the fair.
The two are jacks, or queens, of all trades, but their list of competition categories grows year to year.
This year, the two will be singing in the talent contest for the first time, and Micah will make her debut in the spelling bee.
"I wanted to enter because it's a great opportunity, and I'm working real hard on my spelling," she said.
But that's not all the sisters will do.
Their hands will be covered in flour soon enough as they start to make the crust for their fourth fair pie contest.
"I'm going to be making an apple custard pie," Hannah said.
Micah will be putting in the same kind of pie she has for three years now -- chocolate -- only with a different recipe, she said.
And they mean business.
Hannah won first place last year with her "Angel Pie," full of cream and pineapple, and Micah won the year before.
The girls will also have their hands full of crayons, paint and beads for the artwork they are entering. Both plan to enter acrylic painting, bead art, crafts, colored pencil drawings and other art entries.
With each entry receiving a ribbon and some cash, Micah said putting more artwork in "really pays off."
She said she might have a little extra creativity in her, while she helps the environment at the same time.
"I might do the recycle fair," she said, which is making something in the fair out of recycled products.
"Last year, I made a bunny," she said.
After all of the talent shows, pie baking and artistic work, the girls like to relax and walk around the fair.
One of their stops is the livestock area, where they each have a favorite.
"Sometimes they will have a big pig there, and sometimes it will have little babies, maybe 10 or 12 little babies, and it's really cute to see them," Hannah said.
But Micah likes the fuzzier animals.
"I like seeing the little bunnies," she said.
They don't forget to eat either. Their favorites are hot dogs and funnel cakes.
The girls don't plan to stop participating in the fair anytime soon, but there will come a time that they will grow out of it, they said.
"I think I will keep on trying to do as much as I can before I age out of it," Micah said.
"It's just a really great experience," Hannah said.