Peach Queen, Little Miss Peach Hopefuls Brave Heat for the Crown

Thanks to her command of the peach's importance to the Garden State—probably due in no small part to her lifetime growing up amid the peach business—Mullica Hill’s Melissa Holtzhauser walked away with the Miss New Jersey Peach Queen 2011 crown.

It marked win number five for Holtzhauser in the annual pageant, but her first time as queen.

“Now that it’s Peach Queen, something I’ve been looking forward to since I was 5, it’s really an honor,” said an exultant Holtzhauser. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Joining the fruity royal court are newly crowned Little Miss Peach winners: Aubre Mae Menold, 5- to 6-year-old division; Emily Bohl, 7- to 9-year-old division; Sierra Bohl, 10- to 12-year-old division; and Ashley Kulikowski, 13- to 15-year-old division.

The girls competed as part of the 2011 Gloucester County 4-H Fair and Peach Festival, New Jersey’s four-day ode to the fruit and farming.

The events started out with a bang this year, having opened Thursday to fanfare, including the flower and vegetable contest, decorated birdhouse contest and amusement rides. The fair is serving up lots summer favorites, offering refreshing watermelon and Italian ices to beat the heat, along with the traditional funnel cakes, boardwalk fries and daily BBQ dinners.

Day two brought no less excitement. Competition was fierce at this year’s Little Miss Peach and Miss New Jersey Peach Queen contest, held annually at the 4-H fairgrounds off of Route 77 in Mullica Hill. Despite the scorching heat, all of the contestants, ranging in age from 5 to 18, were dressed to the nines in formal gowns, with some having gotten their hair and makeup done for the occasion.

The girls had to think on their feet, answering one question picked out of a hat, such as “If you had one wish, what would it be and why?” “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or, “Who do you look up to besides your parents?”

The Little Miss contestants gave adorably predictable answers, like wishing for a kitten or idolizing Selena Gomez, but the older girls had a few extra hoops to jump through before one of them could be crowned Miss New Jersey Peach Queen. Each contestant in the 16- to 18-year-old bracket also delivered a short speech on a peach-related topic of her choosing.

Winner Holtzhauser, daughter of area peach phenomenon Tom Holtzhauser, impressed the judges with her passionate speech on the importance of buying peaches from local farmers in order to keep New Jersey thriving.

It proved a big day for the Holtzhauser family, as Tom Holtzhauser, who has 35 years in the peach-growing business, won the Class Select in three categories, including Best of Select.

As the winners went to have their pictures taken, and everyone else headed home to their air-conditioners, the fair wasn’t quite ready to close up shop for the day yet. The country-rock band Wanted was slated to begin performing shortly after the end of the contest.

The fair continues today with the Diaper Derby and Baby Parade, as well as the much-anticipated Peach Bake-Off.