In what many think was a a "history making event," the 49th annual Hopkins County Dairy Festival Parade was marked by intense thunderstorms, that forced parade participants searching for cover, soon after the beginning of the parade wound its way to the downtown square. "We were on Gilmer Street, just leaving the square, when my parents pitched me an umbrella," expressed 2008 Dairy Festival Queen, Sarah Yosten. "We moved up just a little ways and it started lightning and it was time to get inside the vehicle, but I still managed to wave to the crowd that was seeking cover in their own vehicles!"

 

This "plastic" dairy cow, on the Southwest Dairy Museum float didn't seem to mind the rainfall at all,
as she made her way to the Moo-lympics, on Saturday morning!

 

 

"We were almost drowned," expressed members of the Dairy Max group, who had plans of walking the entire parade route, passing out milk. "But, even though it was uncomfortable, we knew that we needed the rain back home on our hay meadows, pastures, and other crops!"

These dairy farmers that were part of the DairyMax group that passed out milk all along the parade route,
were dry when they started, but soon got very wet. However, they weren't complaining too much, as they
needed the moisture back home on their pastures, hay meadows, and crops.

"Yes, we'd like to have made it through the parade route, dry, but anytime you get a good rain in the summertime, you count your blessings," expressed another one of the local dairy farmers. "We got over an inch of rain and it certainly was needed back home on our sorghums and hay meadows!"

These little dairy farmers, Jackson Reed, left, and Cash Gamblin, didn't seem to be bothered by
threatening skies for Saturday's Dairy Festival Parade.

 

 

Enjoy the following scenes from Saturday's 49th Annual Hopkins County Dairy Festival Parade:

John Prickett carried the "Moo-lympic Flame," but it later
got extinguished by torrential rains.

2008 Hopkins County Dairy Festival Queen Sarah Yosten proudly waves to the crowd, before
she was forced inside the vehicle because of heavy rain and lightning.

Dairy Festival Candidate Cecily Adams

 

Dairy Festival Candidated Baleigh Butler

Dairy Festival Candidate Alyssa Burney

Dairy Festival Candidate Morgan Lutz

 

Dairy Festival Candidate Britney Cheatham

Dairy Festival Candidate Chesley McGlamery

 

Dairy Festival Candidate Kaitlyn Potts

Dairy Festival Candidate Haley Reynolds

Dairy Festival Candidate Morgan Russom

 

And the drenching rains
came down......

 

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