When the Minnesota State Fair is described as “The Great Minnesota Get Together,” it’s not a joke. More than 2 million people attended this year’s event, including Hutchinson natives Kiley Lickfelt and Allison Wright who were among the young women competing for the crown of Princess Kay of the Milky Way.
Following the coronation Aug. 31, Princess Kay Rachel Rynda and her court had a busy fair run. Rynda was there all 12 days, while the nine finalists were each there for four days, with one day dedicated to sitting for Litchfield sculptor Gerry Kulzer, who does the honors of carving their image in butter.
Lickfelt, who was a runner up for the 69th Princess Kay crown, described the Minnesota State Fair as “(it) feels kind of like a home away from home.”
“I just love the traditions my family has when going there,” she said. “No matter if I am in the barns with my cattle, or I’m crown and sash in the dairy building, nothing makes me happier than talking with the public. The fair brings such a wide dynamic of people through those gates, and you never know who’s life you might have an impact on just from a few minutes-long conversation. Aside from this, all I need is a bucket of Sweet Martha’s Cookies and I am happy as can be!”
This year’s Minnesota State Fair was truly a once-in-lifetime experience for all concerned. To share it, Lickfelt and Wright participated in this Leader Q&A.
What has this week at the State Fair been like for you?
Kiley: I have been at the state fair as a Princess Kay finalist since Friday, Sept. 2. So far, I have been able to mingle with fairgoers in the dairy building, help judge the butter carving contest by the dairy barn, and even sit in the cooler for 8 hours having my own likeness carved in 90 pounds of butter! I just love chatting with the folks who stroll through the dairy building. Oftentimes they come up with great questions about the Princess Kay process and about the butter booth.
Allison: Representing the McLeod County Dairy farmers has been a blast at the Minnesota State Fair. I had an opportunity to have my likeness sculpted into 90 pounds of butter donated by AMPI, talk with hundreds of people who came to see the butter sculpting, and was able to bond with the other Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists. Everyday we would get to the fairground around 9 a.m., and then go over the dairy schedule, which normally looked like helping with a milking demonstration at 10 a.m., competing in the agri-Olympics at noon, and then spending the rest of the day in the dairy building talking with consumers.
Tell me what it was like to be sculpted in butter?
Kiley: Being sculpted in butter is a dream come true for me. Not only do I now have a butter twin, but I have memories that will last a lifetime! My favorite part about the carving process was not only having all of my family and friends there to support me, but striking up some great conversations with our butter carver, Gerry. I am sure thankful to be a true Midwesterner, because it gets cold in that butter booth! The temperature in the cooler remains around 40 degrees. At this temp, it is just barely warm enough to where jerry can easily sculpted with it and still be labeled as food safe. And yes — we finalists get to bring home all 90 pounds of butter! Not only do we get to keep the carving herself, but we also get to keep all of the scraps from the block.
Allison: Having my likeness sculpted in butter was a very fun experience. I was able to stay entertained for 6 hours as the sculpting was happening by answering trivia questions and talking to the sculptor, Gerry. The temperature of the butter booth is 40 degrees, but I stayed nice and toasty in my snow pants and snow jacket that were donated to all of the Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists from Midwest Dairy. I am planning to bring home my 90 pounds of butter and put it in my family’s farm store called Wright’s Family Market and have a sale on all of our dairy products.
Do you have any advice for future Princess Kay contestants?
Kiley: My advice for any girls thinking about running for Princess Kay — just go for it! This is such an incredible program to be apart of. I am so pleased to be able to walk away from this experience with not only a bunch of new friends, but also skills and memories that will last a lifetime. The biggest tip I have for anyone running is to just be yourself!
Allison: My advice for anyone who is thinking about running for a county-level dairy princess or Princess Kay is to just do it. I have learned so much about myself and about the dairy community around us from being in the dairy royalty program. The advice I was given was be yourself and be true to who you are and who you are representing. I would pass this advice on to anyone, because it helped me gain confidence in myself and in my communicating skills.
