EATON — The 53rd Annual Preble County Pork Festival has announced this year’s Royalty Contest will be held Sunday, May 5, at 5 p.m. at the Preble County Art Association’s art center in Eaton.

The contest is open to all persons between the ages of 17-24 residing in Preble County.

The King or Queen and Prince or Princess participants will be judged by an essay entry, one-on-one interview, and live speech and questions at the contest event.

Participants should have exceptional public relations & speaking skills to represent the Pork Festival to the best of their ability throughout the year.

Winners will receive a tiara/crown, sash, two meal tickets, gift basket, flowers, and will represent the Pork Festival at all related events and meet and greets. This year’s Master of Ceremony will be Jeff Lane, radio personality from Kicks 96 and Steve Bahnweg, production director of Whitewater Television.

The Preble County Pork Festival has a longstanding history with the community and the 2024 royalty winners will join a network of support from past royal courts to carry on the tradition, organizers said in a press release. The purpose of the Pork Festival is to provide education and further the pork industry, a once-staple of Preble County growth.

All interested participants should visit www.porkfestival.org for additional information and submission of application forms. The public is encouraged to attend this event as the 2024 Pork Festival Royalty members are crowned on Sunday, May 5.

The Preble County Pork Festival is a non-profit 501c5 organization dedicated to education surrounding the pork industry and giving back to the community. It is only made possible by the hard work of volunteers, the generosity of sponsors and most importantly, the droves of attendees who attend the festival every year.

The deadline for applications is April 5. To access the full application, along with rules and regulations, visit Porkfestival.org.