48th Dairy Festival has activities for kids

The 48th annual Walthall Dairy Festival will be Saturday, June 7, at Holmes Water Park. The family-friendly festival is especially designed with kids in mind so they can roam and frollick on their own during the day.
New this year and worth mentioning first is a large area with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, technology, engineering, art and math) activities put on by TRCG STEAM. Included will be stomp rockets, underwater robots and a portable planetarium.
Doug Rushing Realty again sponsors a mechanical bull ride this year. Like all rides, games and contests at the park, it’s free.
Kids may want to enter the Dairy Fest Talent Contest, an event sponsored by Trustmark Bank. The contest is on stage beginning at 10a.m.
Free milk and ice cream sandwiches will be available at the information tent beginning at 10 a.m.
At mid-morning, the ice cream eating contest at 11 is open to kids. Sponsored by Cardio World/Fun World, the contest is divided into age groups. Prizes are awarded to the youngster who can consume the most ice cream first.
It’s followed at 12:15 p.m. by Pike National Bank’s mooing contest. Just as the name indicates a prize is awarded, along with bragging rights, for the child who best imitates a cow’s moo.
The sack races take place at 1:15 in front of the stage. It’s simply an old-fashioned sack race as kids try to hop their way to the finish line in a burlap sack.
Watermelon is a popular fruit of the South and Walthall Co-op puts on a watermelon eating contest at 2:15 to see who can finish off a watermelon slice first.
Registration starts at 3 p.m. at the stage area, an hour ahead of the Rotary turtle races. Kids have their turtles inspected and approved for racing by the turtle doctor receiving an official Turtle Race Certificate.
Just prior to the races, at 3:45, Rotary conducts the bubble gum blowing contest. Entrants are divided into age groups, given a cracker to eat, then a piece of bubble gum to chew. The winner is the first person to blow a sustained bubble.
The turtle races start at 4 p.m. with the turtles divided into different size groups. They are dropped in the middle of a circle and the first turtle to cross the circle is the winner. The turtle races are extremely popular, draw a big crowd and are a long-time fixture of the Dairy Festival.
While the above offers plenty of activities for kids at the Dairy Festival, there are other locations around the park that will appeal to them including the Pike National Bank Cream Pitcher Fun Farm with lots of beanbag toss games and inflatables to keep them occupied.
Southland Express bring their cow train to the festival again for youngsters to ride. And Farm Bureau is again sponsoring a petting farm with all sorts of animals, including several you’ll find on the farm, that children can interact with up close.
There’s also a guess the cow weight event sponsored by Livestock Producers and the Walthall Dairymen Assn. Kids enjoy having their picture taken with the Holstein cow from Tanya Rushing’s B&B Dairy at Enon, as well as trying to guess her weight. Cash prizes are awarded to the top winners.
Some of the older children—and young ones too—will enjoy the various exhibits of old tractors and engines, vintage bicycles and a street rod and vintage car show sponsored by Mississippi Land, Escrow & Title on the festival grounds.
They’re also able to get close-up looks at Tylertown Fire Department’s fire truck.
After taking a break from the day’s activities and a chance to cool off, kids can return at 9 p.m. with their parents to enjoy a night fireworks display, closing out the festival for this year.
As always, the Dairy Festival offers a full day of entertainment geared to the entire family—from babies to grandparents!