Thursday, June 18, 2009

Meridian Dairy Days Going On Now





It's one of our family traditions. You can't go a year without attending the Meridian Dairy Days Parade. I remember going to the parade as a kid and it's something my kids look forward to every year. They love getting candy and waiting for the milk truck to toss them free chocolate milks. The parade is on Friday evening and other various activities are scheduled throughout the weekend. Besides the parade, we love going to the Pancake Feed and then listening to the Meridian Symphony perform for free in Storey Park. The carnival is also fun when it's not too hot or crowded.

Here is some information I took from their website. Click here for a schedule of events.
Meridian Dairy Days is held the third full weekend of June each year, and celebrates our community’s heritage when Meridian was the dairy center of Idaho. The event has been celebrated in some fashion since 1929. The Meridian Chamber of Commerce produces the Dairy Days Festival with a full slate of events, which combines with dairy-related events produced by the Meridian Dairy Show Board. The 80th Annual Meridian Dairy Days will be held on June 16-20 in 2009.

Entries in the COW WOW Art Contest start appearing throughout the City the weekend before the Festival. Based on the 2009 theme: Moo-sicians, businesses, groups and individuals decorate plywood cows to show off their creativity and vie for cash prizes.

The Dairy Days Festival begins on Thursday night in Storey Park with a Pancake Feed followed by a free concert by the Meridian Symphony Orchestra.

On Friday, the Festival Marketplace opens, with 80 vendors selling food, crafts, art, and various other products and services. For the children, the “Kids Corral” provides free fun activities and games.

Friday evening, the “Real Dairy Parade” begins at 7 pm with 100 entries focusing on a dairy theme. (www.meridiandairydays.info)

Saturday morning begins with the annual “Milk Run” fun run at Meridian Speedway. Little tykes can participate in a ¼ mile run around the track, and then the older kids and adults do a 5K race that starts and ends at the Speedway. Vendors open at 10 am. At noon the "Dairy Dash", a kid's bicycle race, takes place at the Meridian Speedway. In the afternoon, area coffee shops and restaurants participate in the “Milk Mocktail” Contest, and the public votes for their favorite dairy-based drink. Join us at 2pm to sample the recipes and vote for your favorite.

Other events for 2009 include: the 60th Annual Dairy Princess Contest a carnival, a farm animal education exhibition and dairy cattle and dairy goat shows.

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