No one used to stare at Courtney Barnes when she ate ice cream in the Grandstand or visited the butter cow.

But the day she donned a sparkling crown and purple sash as the 2004 Iowa State Fair Queen, people took notice.

Little girls clamored to get their pictures taken with her.

Inebriated men hailed her as she passed, some even groveling in her path. Just about everyone stopped to watch what she was doing and wanted to chat with her.

But she didn’t mind.

“I think it’s fun,” she said. “I’d start talking to them, sharing stories about the fair. You meet so many interesting people.”

Barnes, freshman in health and human performance, was selected as queen on Aug. 14 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. She was one of 103 women vying for the royal title this year, the highest number of participants ever in the contest.

Barnes, who is from Adel, became eligible to compete in this year’s pageant after winning the title of 2004 Madison County Fair Queen.

The Iowa State Fair has always been a big part of Barnes’ life — she’s attended every summer since she was a baby. She started showing cattle and swine for 4-H at the fair when she was 9 years old, something she continued to do this year.

This year was a little different, however.

“I had to go through, like, four clothing changes,” she said. “I had to take my crown off, put my show clothes on, show the pigs, go back, put my crown on … it was kind of exhausting.”

Barnes wore her crown and sash almost every waking moment of her reign over the fair. Showing the pigs and riding amusement rides in the Midway were the only times she took the crown off, she said, besides when she went to sleep.

And putting it on was no easy task.

“There are 13 pins in it, and the crown still shakes,” she said.

However, Barnes said she was lucky enough to have a chaperone during the fair who helped her with everything from attaching the crown to making sure she got to the numerous events and interviews she needed to attend on time.

Katie Lantz, the 2002 Iowa State Fair queen, was at her side every day, and said she enjoyed continuing to be involved with the fair.

“I am her shadow, I am her golf cart driver, I am a million different things, and love doing it,” Lantz said.

“Being queen is kind of a three-year cycle — the first year you are queen, then the next year you come back for a few days and give the new queen your crown. The third year, you’re the queen’s chaperone. By the second time you come back and you have to be queen again until the next is crowned, it’s cake. You’ve got it down. Now I’m here to help her out.”

Lantz helped her carry on the fair queen’s traditions as well, including one called “Snakes Alive,” which she said is the longest-running queen tradition, dating back to 1980.

“Every year, the queen poses for a picture with a huge snake wrapped around her,” she said. “This year, it was a 42-pound boa [constrictor].”

A new queen tradition the two came up with this year is the Queen’s Choice Awards. Barnes bestowed 10 certificates of honor on her favorite places at the fair, the first of which was the Nitro Ice Cream booth in the Grandstand.

“It’s the best food you can get here,” Barnes said.

But now that the fair is over, her crown and sash have come off, and Barnes will no longer receive the daily adoration in ISU classrooms that she garnered at the fairgrounds. At least she’ll get to do it all again next year — until a new queen is crowned.