The 59th Annual Hopkins County Dairy Festival activities begin Friday at noon with Opening Ceremonies at Celebration Plaza. Candidates for Dairy Festival Queen, balloon pilots, and others involved in the festival activities will be present for the ribbon cutting. At 6 p.m. the Balloon Rally begins and at 7 p.m. Friday, the 5K Milk Run. The Balloon Rally and Milk Run will be on the campus of Shannon Oaks Church.
On Saturday, at 10 a.m. Dairy Festival Parade will leave Buford Park and travel Connally Street to Celebration Plaza, to Gilmer Street with the parade ending at Gilmer and Lee Street. KSST will broadcast the parade live on radio and ksstradio.com stream. A video replay of the event will be broadcast on Suddenlink Cable Channel 18 later. Also at 10 a.m., the Junior Dairy Show begins at the Civic Center Arena.
Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. the Festival Queen Contestants, their parents and balloon pilots will compete in a milking contest in the Civic Center Arena. The Chamber of Commerce Ice Cream Freeze Off begins at 5:30 p.m. on the Shannon Oaks Church Lawn. In the all-you-can-eat event, cost per individual is $3. The balloon glow, which is free, is 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.
The Dairy Festival Coronation Pageant is Saturday, June 17th, 7 p.m. in the Sulphur Springs High School Fine Arts Auditorium.