Fun Facts about the Hopkins County Dairy Festival 2023
During the early days of the Dairy Festival, area businesses would decorate their windows with milk and cow-themed displays. Although this practice has largely fallen by the wayside, some businesses still participate! (pictured: The Magic Scoop ice cream on the Sulphur Springs square features a “disco cow” motif. They’re a great place to go after the Freeze-Off if you still want more homemade ice cream!)
The cow pictured on the Dairy Festival logo is named Moo-Nique, and she was given this moniker in 1981 by six-year-old Cristina Bouland.
Dairy Festival board members Dr. David and Pam Black are the longest-serving members of the board– they were inaugurated in 1987.
A main feature of the Dairy Festival’s early years were members of the Hi-King Klub, who lined Highway 30 to hand out free dairy products in paper cups to passers-by at “milk stations.”
In the 1950s and 1960s, pageant queens from nearby towns such as Mt. Vernon, Daingerfield, Cooper, and Winnsboro were visiting royalty at the Dairy Festival. They helped contestants of the Hopkins County Dairy Pageant to educate the public about the benefits of milk.
Other events have included tours of dairy farms, calf scramble, a “Dairymen’s Parade” and a “Mystery Milkman” contest.
By Taylor Nye. Photos by Taylor Nye. Historical photos from Hopkins County Echo
