Cloudy, cool weather doesn't dampen enthusiasm for Poultry and Rabbit Dress-Up at fair

Six rabbits � and a chicken � were dressed and ready for judging during the Poultry and Rabbit Dress-Up Contest on Sunday afternoon at the SEMO District Fair.

Lauren Cox, 8, has been participating in the Poultry and Rabbit Dress-Up Contest for three years now, competing with a chicken and a rabbit; while siblings Arabella and Elijah Standley, ages 9 and 6 respectively, gave it their first shot this year with their rabbits.

Decked out in a white doctor�s coat with a stethoscope around her neck and wearing glasses, �Dr. Cox� held a chicken, called Dumplin� � dressed in red polka dots to resemble chicken pox � being cured through a makeshift IV filled with mealworms.

Competing for the first time, 5-year-old Eli Subramani, dressed up as Mr. McGregor from the children�s book �Peter Rabbit,� won the overall first-place award with his rabbits Cecil, dressed as Peter Rabbit, and Margeaux, dresses as the rabbit in �Goodnight Moon.�

Through the fun and joy, however, attendees were aware of the absence of contest founder Dortha Strack, who died in February. Strack was a notable local personality and �the No. 1,� as described by friend Phyllis Sinn.

Kandy Peek, Strack�s niece, said she feels her aunt was grooming her to take on the role of organizing the contest.

�Have I panicked?� she asked. �Yes.� But Peek said she has asked volunteers whether there�s anything she hasn�t asked them to do that her aunt would have asked.

�She�s here in spirit,� Peek said. �I don�t think it�s hit me that she�s not actually here.�

Peek explained how she had always picked up her aunt for the event and took her home after, but the lack of Strack�s physical presence doesn�t mean she isn�t present at all.

�She always had rubber bands on,� Peek said, gesturing to a rubber band on her wrist. She explained that Strack made sure to let them know she was watching, when Peek�s cousin Jo � Strack�s son � got out of his truck recently, a rubber band fell onto the pavement.

�[Jo] gave it to me, so I�ll wear it this week,� she said as she held the rubber band on her wrist.

The SEMO District Fair will be held through Saturday at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau.

kjackson@semissourian.com

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