Dairy Festival Board Chairman, Patricia Chase, left, and
Craig Roberts, President of Guaranty Bond Bank, light the
Moo-lympic Torch at ceremonies Friday morning, officially
opening the 2008 Hopkins County Dairy Festival.
"Lighting the Moo-lympic Flame"
by: Bobby McDonald
It was a group of friends, well-wishers, and balloon pilots that joined members of the Hopkins County Dairy Festival Board at 9:30 a.m., Friday, to officially "light the torch," opening the 2008 Hopkins County Dairy Festival. The ceremonies were held on the field south of Guraranty Bond Bank and begin the many activities that will be unfolding in the upcoming week, as Hopkins County's annual salute to the multi-million dollar dairy industry.
"Our theme this year is 'Moo-lympics in Dairyland,' a take on the Summer Olympics that are taking place," explained Dairy Festival Board President, Patricia Chase. "All our decorations will be featuring the theme and will be carried out in the staging, tomorrow's Dairy Festival Parade, and other activities throughout the week!"
Friends, balloon pilots, and supporters joined the Hopkins County Dairy Festival Board in officially
opening the 2008 Hopkins County Dairy Festival at ceremonies, on Friday morning.
"We have a full schedule of events for this year's celebration," expressed Lynda Hager, longtime Dairy Festival Board Member. "From the State Ice Cream Contest, to cow milking contests, parades, pageants, and hot air balloons, we have a full week of activites planned for everyone to enjoy!"
This morning's "media flight" in the hot air balloons was cancelled due to extreme winds in the area, but pilots are planning for a "balloon glow" in the field south of the Southwest Dairy Museum, beginning at 6:00 p.m. They invite everyone out to view the beautiful balloons and have hopes of entering the air, on Saturday morning.
"It always depends on the weather and when it is safe to launch the balloons," expressed Sharonda Greenwood, 2008 Balloon Miester. "We certainly don't want to get anyone hurt and cause damage to the balloons or anything on the ground! We won't be going up unless it is absolutely safe!"
Balloon pilots gathered early, at 5:45 a.m., in the Southwest Dairy Museum, but were unable to launch
their balloons this morning, due to intense winds.
This year there are 27 hot air balloons in Sulphur Springs for the 7th Annual Dairy Aires Balloon Rally, according to Pam Black, Chairman of the rally. "We have a wide variety of balloons and four balloons that have never been to this rally, so that will be something for everyone to see," advised Black. "We're hoping the weather will cooperate and we can launch some balloons this weekend!"
Austin and Sandra Young are among those new to this year's rally. They live in Cat Springs, Texas, between Houston and Austin, and have a unique balloon for everyone to watch for. They are members and supporters of the Houston Zoo, so their balloon is appropriately named "Zoopendous Too," and features 17 zoo animals, in the jungle, that surround the balloon. "Look for the large green balloon with the zoo animals," expressed Austin Young. "We have an elephant, a giraffe, a monkey, and almost every zoo animal you can imagine!"
With cloudy skies in the background, Dairy Festival Board members met on Friday morning for opening
ceremonies and to thank all the many sponsors of the annual tribute to the dairy industry.
The Youngs are coming to Sulphur Springs after a once-in-lifetime trip to Switzerland, where they participated in a unique balloon rally in the Swiss Alps. "I was landing and running to the barns on the quaint little Swiss farms, so I could see the Brown Swiss dairy cows," expressed Susan Young. "We're Texas Longhorn Breeders, so I wanted to see all the cows in Switzerland!"
Each balloon pilot and crew have their own unique stories and are great to converse with, as they tell about their adventures around the country, flying hot air balloons. Make certain that you spend some time getting to know each of them and sharing their experiences with your own from Hopkins County.
"The cows are the real heroes of the dairy industry!"
A complete schedule of all Dairy Festival Events are posted in our Dairy Festival Section, so make plans to attend each of them and support the Hopkins County tribute to the dairy industry!
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