Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival queen ousted after attending luncheon

Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival queen ousted after attending luncheon

The queen of the Bratwurst Festival in a northern Ohio city has been stripped of her crown and both the dethroned royal and festival organizers have retained legal counsel.

Abigail Brocwell was expected to inaugurate this year's Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival Aug. 18 with the ceremonial first bite of sausage.

But when the bratwurst was delivered to the stage, it was first runner-up Natalie Stover who was in place to fulfill the queen's duties for the three-day festival.

An annual summer tradition in Bucyrus since 1968, the festival includes rides, food, vendors, music, three parades and contests – from bratwurst-eating to longest pigtails. Traditionally, a new queen is crowned on the first night of the event.

Brocwell, 21, was crowned in 2021 and was expected to reign over this year's festivities. But she was removed from her throne 10 days before the start of the 2022 festival.

Why was Abbie Brocwell removed as Bratwurst Festival Queen?

Brocwell attended a luncheon hosted by another festival, in violation of the Bratwurst Festival board's instructions, according to a letter from board president Adam Heinlen.

At a royalty travel meeting Aug. 3, the queen and her court were told they were to stop attending other festivals around the state as representatives of the Bratwurst Festival, Heinlen stated.

The letter stated queens' actions and behaviors while at other festivals – toward each other and other festival royalty – "did not properly represent the festival," he wrote.

It is not clear what actions prompted the travel ban.

Court members asked if they could travel on their own to other festivals and were told they could do so, provided they did not present themselves as festival representatives and did not wear their dirndls, crowns or sashes — they were to wear regular clothing.

Heinlen's letter states they were explicitly told not to attend any luncheons, "as luncheons are events reserved exclusively for visiting royalty and are not open to the general public."

Both Brocwell and the festival board agree that she attended a queens' luncheon at the Baltimore Festival on Aug 6. What they disagree on is whether she was there in her official capacity as queen.

The Bratwurst Festival Board of Directors contends she was.

"The board explained to Ms. Brocwell that by attending the luncheon, she interrupted the duties of another girl who had been delegated as a Bratwurst Festival representative, as directed by the board, for that luncheon," Heinlen wrote.

What does dethroned bratwurst queen Brocwell say happened?

On Aug. 24, Brocwell's lawyer, E. Roberta Wade, released a copy of the letter the board gave her client to officially notify her of her removal.

"By attending the Baltimore Festival Queen's Luncheon, you took the place of a royalty court member who was designated as an official representative of the Bratwurst Festival," the board's letter states. "This negatively impacted that representative and the image of Bratwurst Festival, Inc."

Brocwell confirmed to the Telegraph-Forum that the luncheon was attended by the Bratwurst Festival Princess and her mother.

Madison Kent, daughter of Crawford County Sheriff Scott Kent and his wife Kimberly, was the festival's 2021 princess, according to previous reports.

Brocwell contends she made it clear to everyone at the luncheon that she was not representing the Bratwurst Festival.

"They wrote my name down and wrote 'visitor' underneath it and we paid with our own check," Brocwell told a Telegraph-Forum reporter on Wednesday.

Wade, who is representing Brocwell and her parents, provided a copy of the personal check and a letter from Danay White, pageant/queens director of the Baltimore Festival in Fairfield County, that supports Brocwell's claim.

White states Brocwell's mother, Angie, asked if she and Abbie could attend in an unofficial capacity, as Abbie and one of the outgoing Baltimore Festival court members had become very good friends. White replied they would be welcome to attend as that court member's guest, but made it clear Abbie could not wear her crown or sash and that she must pay for both entries at the door.

White provided photos that show Brocwell wearing a black dress, no crown and no sash.

What rules do the Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival board say were broken?

The letter given to Brocwell on Aug. 8 states she violated contract rules requiring her to wear a dirndl and apron, crown and sash for all appearances, and broke another rule by being seen and photographed with a cell phone in her hand. Another rule states the royalty travel chairperson is to handle travel arrangements, and that attendance of events must be approved by the royalty committee adviser.

A dirndl is a traditional dress worn in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and other regions of Europe, based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants. The dirndl consists of a bodice, blouse, full skirt and apron.

At the Bratwurst Festival's royalty pageants, judging includes the authenticity of a contestant's dirndl and her knowledge of the traditions surrounding the dress. A new dirndl is one of the prizes awarded to the queen.

On Thursday, Wade said "it's absolutely not true" that Brocwell presented herself as a festival representative. "The board needs to step back and look at this, and they should be feeling very embarrassed and ashamed of what they did," she said.

When asked what the Brocwells would like to see happen if the board were to decide it erred, Wade said she wasn't sure.

"How can you right this wrong?" Wade said. "The first in this is getting the board to recognize they took a drastic action that was very damaging to Abigail Brocwell, was not warranted and was based on a false belief."