TOPSFIELD — Debra Stewart, of Groveland, was named the 53rd Mrs. Essex County at Topsfield Fair’s annual pageant.
Stewart, who works at registration at Anna Jaques Hospital, was one of eight contestants in the competition for the 2025 Mrs. Essex County crown, according to a press release from the Topsfield Fair. The other contestants were Laura Dike, of Boxford, Emily Girard, of Georgetown, Clarice Menesale of Danvers, Sharon Nambudripad Schiffer and Sandra Plona, both of Rowley, and Bethany Grace Proctor Christianson, and Denielle Ameen Reich, both of Wenham.
“I want them all to come back next year. I would be so happy to crown any of them,” Stewart said about her fellow contestants.
“I’m beyond blessed and honored to be selected as Mrs. Essex County 2025,” she said in the press release. “I can’t wait to serve as the ambassador for next year’s fair.”
She said she participated in the pageant the year before, but did not win.
Stewart said she returned to the competition this year because “the women that I have met through this program are just amazing.
““I love the fair. I love coming here. I love the people. I love to just be involved with the whole community of the fair,” she added.
The 2024 Mrs. Essex County, Lori Burke, crowned Stewart the winner this year.
“Lori is an amazing person. She’s a great friend,” she said. “I just couldn’t have been happier that she was able to crown me.”
Stewart encourages other women in the community to participate in the pageant.
“You’re going to meet so many wonderful people,” she said. “Just the day alone is so much fun… If you just embrace yourself into the whole day, you’re going to have the time of your life — whether you win or not.”
The contestants were judged on “poise, general stage presence, an interview, and a culinary arts submission, which this year was their family’s favorite dessert,” according to the press release.
“It is a homemakers contest,” Carrie Crouch, co-chair of the Mrs. Essex County Pageant, said.
Stewart’s cookie butter cheesecake won first place in the food competition, while Menesale placed second with her chocolate cream pie, and Plona placed third with her strawberry angel food cake, according to the press release.
Despite her first-place finish, Stewart said baking is the most stressful part of the competition for her. “I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my baking.”
She said her cookie butter cheesecake was inspired by her love for Lotus Biscoff, which she referred to as her “guilty pleasure,” and a cookie butter cheesecake from a bakery in Canada.
“Believe it or not, it was better than the one in Canada,” Stewart said.
Crouch described Stewart’s dessert as “wonderful” and “dreamy.”
Crouch said she has been involved with the pageant since being named the 1992 Mrs. Essex County 33 years ago and does not have a favorite part of the contest.
“I like it all,” she said. “I love it. You get to see strong women that are in the community of Essex County. It’s their time to shine. I love to see that.”
According to the press release, Plona received the Beth Geddes Award named in honor of Geddes who died from breast cancer midway through her run as Mrs. Essex County. Nambudripad Schiffer was named Mrs. Congeniality by the other contestants.
The Topsfield Fair’s Mrs. Essex County Pageant is open each year to married women currently living in Essex County who are at least 18 years of age, according to the press release. Each contestant submits a prepared food item. “In keeping with Topsfield Fair’s agricultural roots, contestants are urged to ‘Buy Local’ and use ingredients from local farms in their entries.”
As the 2025 Mrs. Essex County, Stewart will be “instrumental” in the Essex Agricultural Society’s “goal to educate the public regarding the organization’s importance in an atmosphere of fun and excitement through the Topsfield Fair,” according to the press release.
