From left: 2019 Little Miss Friendly finalists Haiden Bartel and Lily Bailey; 2018 Little Miss Friendly Natalie Butler; 2019 finalists Charlie Clinton, Gracie Elam and Avery Garner.
2019 Little Miss Friendly finalist Charlie Clinton
2019 Little Miss Friendly finalist Gracie Elam
2019 Little Miss Friendly finalist Avery Garner
2019 Little Miss Friendly finalist Lily Bailey
2019 Little Miss Friendly finalist Haiden Bartel
2018 Little Miss Friendly Natalie Butler
With the field of 2019 Little Miss Friendly contestants cut to five, one thing is certain: the winner will not have to go far to be the living logo of the Southwest Washington Fair.
The finalists all hail from Chehalis, with all but one set to attend Orin Smith Elementary School in the fall. They are: Lily Bailey, 8; Haiden Bartel, 10; Charlie Clinton, 10; Gracie Elam, 10 and Avery Garner 9.
Garner is the only returning finalist from the 2018 contest won by Natalie Butler of Chehalis. The five finalists and their families met with Butler, Little Miss Friendly coordinator Sue Barlow and other volunteers Friday at the Vernetta Smith Chehalis Timberland Library to prepare for a whirlwind two-week process that will culminate in the naming of a new Little Miss Friendly on the first day of the fair.
“It’s such a confidence builder for them to go through this process and meet all sorts of people at different festivals and community events,” Barlow said. “This group is a little older than last year, so maybe they’re more socially engaged. Sometimes we get younger girls who are so shy when they start out, but by the end of it, they’re running up to people with smiles on their faces.”
Barlow said 20 girls ages 8 to 10 applied to be Little Miss Friendly, double the amount of a year ago. She added that it’s rare for all the finalists to come from one town; the girls are only identified by their application number during the initial screening process.
The contest is entering its 51st year and is sponsored by The Southwest Washington Fair Association and Kiwanis Club of Centralia-Chehalis.
The finalists met the public for the first time Saturday when they attended the Mossyrock Blueberry Festival. They will also be at the Morton Loggers Jubilee this weekend, the Lewis County Board of Commissioners meeting the following Monday and a long list of other public places between now and Aug. 13.
All of the finalists said they enjoy attending the fair each year and would look forward to representing it across Lewis County, should they win the coveted blue cape. A panel of local judges will watch how they conduct themselves over the next two weeks and consider that along with the results of private interviews and questionnaires when making their final decision.
“It’s really exciting for me to have another chance in the top five,” Garner said. “I think the biggest thing I learned last year was to always carry a raincoat or a change of clothes. You never know what the weather is going to be out there.”
The finalists were announced on the radio Thursday morning. Elam found out when her parents woke her up to tell her the news. Bartel was in the car with her mom when they heard her name and began screaming with glee. Bailey said she was surprised to hear her name, but thought immediately about how cool of an experience it would be.
Butler said that she’s sad to see her time as Little Miss Friendly come to a close, but that she’s going to be happy for whoever takes her place. She added that her favorite part of her year long tenure has been getting to meet so many different folks from all reaches of Lewis County and beyond — a sentiment shared by all of the finalists this year.
“I think it would be a really great experience to meet new people and to go around the county at all the festivals and parades,” said Clinton, who attends St. Joseph Catholic School in Chehalis. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
