Megan Pagnini crowned as 2024 Miss California Mid-State Fair Queen

78th California Mid-State Fair officially opens with rope drop

PASO ROBLES — The California Mid-State Fair (CMSF) kicked off its 78th year on Wednesday, July 17, with a switch-up on its normal opening ceremony. This year, instead of a ribbon cutting, fair-goers were let into the fair starting at 3:45 p.m. Then, promptly at 4 p.m., a rope was dropped, letting everyone loose in the fairgrounds to enjoy “Wide Open Spaces,” this year’s theme.

“We wanted to do a little bit of our own style of Disneyland and get everybody in the gate and then do a rope drop at four o’clock,” said Teresa Dellaganna who does special projects and events for the fair. “Today’s free ride day at the carnival, so there’s a lot of people that are very excited to be here. So they’re anxious; they’ve been lining up for the last hour and 20 minutes.”

Before the fair opened to the public, there was a countdown from 10. Fair employees then dropped the rope, and everyone rushed off to have the best time at the “Biggest Little Fair Anywhere.”

Just two hours later, at 6 p.m., the Miss California Mid-State Fair Scholarship Pageant took place on the Frontier Stage.

“Welcome to the California Mid-State Fair Pageant, 2024. We’ve got 11 young ladies vying for the title of Miss California Mid-State Fair,” said emcee Chad Stevens.

Those 11 contestants were Hailey Terrell, Bailey Van Huss, Megan Pagnini, Chelsea Hoyt, Vanessa Panedo, Samantha Hoffman, Logan Rutherford, Kiana Keogh, Emily (EJ) McNeal, Ashlee Holt, and Neelan Adams. The contestants were also joined by last year’s court, queen Kerrigan Jensen, first runner-up Jenna Wilshusen, second runner-up Natalie Boyd, and Miss Congeniality Shirley Horzen for their opening number “Space Cowboys” by *NSYNC.

This year, the pageant was livestreamed on both YouTube and FaceBook, thanks to Whats Up North County. You can find the stream at youtube.com/watch?v=dACkHq9pz2k.

This year, the top five contestants were called up to the microphone for their final questions about their fair proposals after competing in the talent competition and the evening gown portion of the evening. The interview portion took place before the pageant. This year’s top five contestants were Megan Pagnini, Ashlee Holt, Logan Rutherford, Vanessa Panedo, and Emily (EJ) McNeal.

Pagnini, 18, from Paso Robles, was crowned 2024’s Miss California Mid-State Fair. For her talent, Pagnini stayed on theme and sang The Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces,” and her fair proposal, called “Get Home Safe,” will be enacted next year and make sure people who’ve enjoyed the fair get home safely and are educated on effects of drunk driving. Pagnini also took home the honor of being this year’s Miss Congeniality.

“I cannot even put into words. I can’t believe this is happening right now. This is not real,” said Pagnini after her big win. “It feels so rewarding. I’ve been wanting this since I was 6 years old, and to be here talking to you taking pictures with all these little girls, I cannot believe it. I’m so so thankful.”

First runner-up went to 18-year-old Ashlee Holt, also from Paso Robles, who took the audience on a journey through water safety for her talent.

“It feels unreal, very unreal. I’m so proud of myself and all the other contestants,” Holt said. “It was an amazing journey, and we made it to the end.”

She added that she’s looking forward to being at all the concerts with all her new friends this year, and she can’t wait to get to know the girls on the court with her more.

Second runner-up went to 21-year-old Logan Rutherford from Paso Robles. Her talent, which started out with audio from the Disney Pixar film “Cars,” was a monologue about sprint car safety.

“It’s super amazing, especially with all these girls,” Rutherford said of landing on the 2024 court. “We’ve all worked so hard, and we’re so supportive of each other, so just seeing that hard work pay off, not only for myself but for Ashlee and Megan. They have been helpful through it all, and I just cannot be more happy to be on the court with them.”

The interview scholarship went to Hailey Terrell, while the talent scholarship went to Vanessa Panedo, who performed a Folklorico dance to “Son de la Negra.”

The concert of the opening night was next on the agenda, with Miranda Lambert returning to the Chumash Grandstand Arena to sing hits spanning her 23-year country music career. Ben Haggard opened for Lambert.

Congratulations to Pagnini, Holt, and Rutherford on being this year’s Queen and her court. 

Feature Image: Queen candidates, performers, and staffers celebrate the California Mid-State Fair Grand Opening on July 17 in Paso Robles. Photo by Brittany App.