Photo courtesy Heckmann and Archuleta County Fair
By Lyn Varrati | Archuleta County Fair
This year marks the 72nd Archuleta County Fair, “A Timeless Tradition.” The fair will run Aug. 3-6 at the Archuleta County Fairgrounds.
Our fair royalty for 2023 is Queen Janae Sutherland, Honorary Princess Lilly Taylor and Junior Princess Olivia Theys.
Our queen is a 17-year-old native Pagosa Springs resident. She attends Pagosa Springs High School and plans to go on to college to become an elementary school teacher. Outside of school, Sutherland has worked as a dedicated counselor with the youth camp at the town for the last two years. She also volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. She enjoys hunting, fishing, fixing her truck and attending local events.
Our honorary princess is Taylor. She is 12 years old and attends Pagosa Valor Academy. Taylor enjoys volunteering for the Good News Club at Pagosa Springs Elementary School and is entering her fifth year in 4-H. She loves all animals large and small, enjoys her horse and working with the cattle on her family’s ranch. Taylor’s family has been involved with the Archuleta County Fair and 4-H for several generations. The fair board wishes the best to Taylor and her family, and has made her an honorary princess for 2023, as she is currently in Arizona dealing with a health issue. There is a GoFundMe page set up for Taylor, and all donations are appreciated. You can go to GoFundMe – Team Lilly – Supporting the Taylors.
Our junior princess is Theys. She is 10 years old and attends Pagosa Springs Elementary School. Theys has grown up in Pagosa and has been involved in Girl Scouts for the past six years. She has a passion for making the world a better place and is excited about being a junior princess representative for the Archuleta County Fair.
Fair dedications
The fair board wishes to remember Archuleta County Fair supporters and volunteers who have passed away over the last year, but who had passionately served the fair, the 4-H program and our youth. We acknowledge their commitment to the fair and to our community in general. This year, we are honored to remember these faithful men and women, and we dedicate this year’s fair to their memory: Sarah Martin, Jack Rosenbaum, Etta Fay Day, Fredrick Sorenson Jr. and Beverly Flaming.
Recognizing volunteers
We also recognize three hardworking and well-deserving folks who made an impact over the years in the successful programs of the fair. These volunteers step up and fill essential roles during the fair using their skills and talents to improve their specific areas.
Our fair could not function without the tireless work of motivated, community-oriented men and women.
We are pleased to recognize three volunteers this year: Super Superintendent Kendra Hittle, Livestock/Poultry leader; Super Volunteer Janet Kubelka, Exhibit Hall/Quilt Program coordinator; and Super Volunteer Pat Sadd and all fair volunteers.
