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Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival opening
ceremony and Pageant
[September 12, 2026]
The Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival
kicked off on Thursday evening with an opening ceremony followed
immediately by the Little and Junior Miss Mt. Pulaski pageant.
Mt. Pulaski Mayor Matt Bobell
offered opening remarks. He began recognizing the 50th edition of
the festival and offering kudos to the committee that works to put
the festival together each year. He then went into naming the many
sponsors who assist with the financial needs of the festival
committee.
In his early remarks, he stated that he was proud to be a member of
the Mt. Pulaski community and to serve as a public official in the
city. He said that Mt. Pulaski was a supportive community that comes
together to make good things happen.
The next speaker, Danielle Meister
said that it was no small matter to get the festival together. She
noted that it costs about $22,000 to maintain the festival and most
importantly be able to offer free activities for the community. She
thanked the city works department that had been responsible for a
lot of the set up in preparation for the festival.
The third speaker was Katie Alsop
who introduced the Grand Marshal for the Saturday afternoon parade.
She spoke about the impact of the summer food program on the
community and the many people who work to assure that during the
summer months when there is no school to provide meals for children,
the summer program sees to it that families have what is needed to
provide proper nutrition to their children. She said that while all
those who contribute from local churches to individual volunteers
are vital, there are two women who orchestrate the program and keep
it moving forward. Those two women will be this years grand
marshals. She noted that one of the two was in the audience and
acknowledged Karen Ballard who was presented with a plaque by
Meister.
After a short break the pageant
began with Jenny Lakin acting as the master of ceremonies. Lakin is
the daughter-in-law of the late Mike Lakin who published a newspaper
in Mt. Pulaski for many years. She related how her father-in-law
loved spending time at the Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival, covering all
the events and enjoying time with members of his community. She
expressed that she was excited to be able to keep the Lakin name
involved in the annual event.
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The pageant is for
two different categories of young ladies. The Little Miss
category is for young ladies in kindergarten through second
grade. The Junior Miss category is for those who are in third
and fourth grade.
This year, the judges for the event
were the 2026 Little Miss Logan County Findley Farmer, 2026 Junior
Miss Logan County Falyn Farmer, Michelle Ryan and Tish Podunajec,
both of whom are a part of the Logan County Fair Queen Organization.
The girls were introduced according to their entry number, with the
Little Miss contestants coming up as their names were called.
Those contestants were:
1 Ivy Schaffenacker
2 Gwenyth Taylor
3 Isla Leinweber
4 Laila Fulk
5 Kailey Richardson
6 Braylee Worthington
7 Frankie June Bassett
8 Eliza Meister
Immediately following those introductions came the Junior Miss
contestants. They were:
1 Reese Jones
2 Ella Hall
3 Faye Taylor
4 Briella McDonnough
5 Evelyn White
6 Luci Bobell
7 Mattea Williams
8 Zoie Steskal
9 Kinley Layhe
Next the girls were called up a second time, one at a time. The
Little Miss contestants were instructed to introduce themselves then
say what is their favorite thing to do at the fall festival. The
majority of the young ladies said that their favorite part of the
festival was enjoying the bounce houses. Other lesser-named
activities included visiting the animals at the petting zoo, and
being part of the annual pageant.
The Junior Miss Pulaski contestants were called up next, again one
by one. They introduced themselves then noted their favorite food to
enjoy at the festival. There were a variety of answers including the
corn dogs, cheese fries, cheese curds, and cotton candy with cheese
fries taking a win over corn dogs by a narrow margin.
The two groups were then called to the steps of the Mt. Pulaski
Courthouse and awaited the judges decisions.
The first winner to be announced was
Isla Leinweber as the new Little Miss Mt. Pulaski. She received her
crown and sash from the 2025 Little Miss Mt. Pulaski Reese Diebert
with assistance from the Logan County royalty Little Miss Findley
and Junior Miss Falyn.
Next to be announced was Luci Bobell as the 2026 Junior Miss Mt.
Pulaski, who again was crowned and received her sash from Little
Miss Mt. Pulaski Reese Dieber and Logan County royalty Little Miss
Findley and Junior Miss Falyn.
Lakin thanked everyone for attending the event and expressed wishes
for a great weekend in Mt. Pulaski.
Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival Pageant photo slideshow
Mt.
Pulaski Fall Festival opening video playlist
[Nila Smith]
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