Lebanon Area Fair Queen Olivia Morrissey was crowned the 2026 Pennsylvania Fair Queen on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the 113th annual convention of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs and Pennsylvania State Showmen’s Association.
Morrissey was one of 65 contestants across the commonwealth who were evaluated by a panel of three judges on their written and speaking skills, knowledge of the fair and agricultural industries. She is a 2025 graduate of Annville-Cleona High School and is currently a freshman studying Fashion Design.
When asked during the final question, “If you knew your next social media post would go viral, what would you post and why,” Morrissey answered that she would share about agricultural education.
“Unfortunately, agricultural education is at a challenging point in a lot of other states,” said Morrissey. “If I were able to go viral across the country, I would like to inform others about the importance of our agriculture and our farmers, and how what they do affects our everyday lives and everything that we do.”
Morrissey will receive scholarships from the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs at the end of her reign in January 2027. She was crowned by outgoing Alternate Brooke Beamesderfer from the Lebanon Area Fair.
Speaking to the Lebanon Daily News in 2025, Morrissey said her love of sewing prompted her to join the Savannah College of Art and Design as a fashion design major in the fall. One of her favorite designers is Coco Chanel, and she even designed a jacket and skirt inspired by the French fashion designer and businesswoman.
“I’ve just loved creating clothing, loved buying clothing and I just love the industry that is a part of it,” she said in 2025. “I’m actually minoring in fibers, too, because it brings in that agriculture side where I’m going to learn about wool and cotton fabrics, which is all a part of our ag industry that a lot of people don’t think of when they think of agriculture.”
The 2025 pageant was Morrissey’s first year entering the Lebanon Area Fair Queen Contest. The Lebanon Area Fair organizers said in a Facebook post Jan. 24, 2026 that they were “so proud of Olivia for achieving the title of 2026 PA State Fair Queen!!!”
“We have been so blessed to have such wonderful young women representing our fair over the years!” organizers said in their post.
Officials said that Morrissey will now travel across the commonwealth to “advocate for fairs and to share the story of the impact fairs have on Pennsylvania.” Morrissey will also serve as an honorary member of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Junior Committee during her time as the 2026 PA Fair Queen and will be a contributor to the Friends of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Foundation’s and the PA State Association of County Fair’s newsletters.
