Ally Carpenter (left), representing Kane Area High School, has been chosen as Miss McKean County Fair Queen. She receives her trophy Monday night at the fair from out-going fair queen Megan Woods (right) of Smethport. Carpenter, who will enter her senior year at Kane High School later this month, is the daughter of Dave and Beth Carpenter of Mt. Jewett.

When Ally Carpenter prepared for the Miss Kane High competition in February, she admits she was "a nervous wreck."

But she was as "cool as a cucumber" Monday in winning the title of McKean County Fair Queen.

If she was nervous Monday on stage at the fair, it didn't show. Carpenter, 17, confidently spoke at the podium for over two minutes about the virtues of the county fair. She later took the stage for a six-minute display of talent--- a memorized comic monologue.

To compete for the title of Miss Kane High, Carpenter had to come up with a talent. Most contestants either play their musical instruments, dance or sing. Carpenter chose to be a comedienne.

"I've always read a lot of joke books," Carpenter said discussing her choice for talent.

It was a unique year for talent among the fair queen contestants. Marklyn Simms, who will be entering her senior year at Smethport High School, performed a routine on her horse in a fenced-in pen not far from the stage. She was named first runner-up.

The outgoing McKean County Fair Queen is Megan Woods, also from Smethport. Woods, who will be entering her freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, gave a farewell speech and sang a song in her final performance as fair queen.

Carpenter, who will enter her senior year at Kane High School later this month, is the daughter of Dave and Beth Carpenter of Mt. Jewett. Her brother, Andrew, 14, will be a sophomore a Kane High School.

The new McKean County Fair Queen is the granddaughter of Kathryn Fleeger of Kane, the late Floyd Fleeger and the late Reynold and Phyllis Carpenter. The fair queen's aunts include Kathy Toth of Kane and Janet Surat and Carolynn Mackey of Bradford.

As McKean County Fair Queen, Carpenter faces a busy schedule.

She will be attending many daily events at the fair, which runs through Saturday at the fairgrounds near Smethport. In January, she will represent McKean County  in state competition at the State Fair Convention in Hershey. Next summer she will accompany the 2009 county fair contestants as they take part in various events.

"I'm excited; I can't wait," Carpenter said in looking ahead to her "duties" as the reigning fair queen.

Carpenter is the first Kane High representative to win the title of county fair queen since Constance Anderson captured the crown in 2005.

Carpenter said she "tried to stay calm" as she answered a question from the judges, spoke at the podium and performed her comedy routine. The five contestants for the title of fair queen dined Thursday with the judges, who posed questions during the evening. She believes this interaction with the judges helped.

"I like that idea," Carpenter said. "The judges got to know me."

Carpenter serves as president of the Kane High chapter of the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). She has been a member of SADD since her freshman year in high school.

Carpenter also is a member of the Art Club and Prom Committee at the high school. Carpenter works as a barista at the Kaffe Sol restaurant in Mt. Jewett.

A former queen of the Mt. Jewett Swedish Festival, Carpenter for the past two years has served as the volunteer chairman of the festival queen contest.

After graduating from Kane High School next June, Carpenter plans to enroll at the Toni and Guy Hairdressing Academy in Erie. She is planning a career as a hairdressing teacher in the vocational-agricultural department at a school.

She said she wants to learn more about "skin care and makeup" as well as hairdressing.

For the county fair queen competition, she wore her white dress from the May prom at the high school. A red sash across the dress proclaimed her as "Miss Kane." She wore a corsage of red and blue-- the Kane school colors.

Many of Carpenter's family and friends were in the audience. Some supporters cheered her speech and talent performance by standing and displaying large signs. One read "Go Big Al." Four other signs, held up side-by-side, spelled out her name.

Carpenter said she was "definitely" thrilled by the show of the support, which she said "gave me more confidence."

"I wish I could have had a camera on stage to take their picture," Carpenter said in praising her supporters.