Dairy Princess Parade - Part 2

I was watching the Dairy Princess Parade in Canton, New York (see Part 1, yesterday). This float had hay bales, a giant milk carton and lots of young folks, happy they didn't have to walk:

Farm Credit East won a prize for this float, which featured a milk carton pouring milk into a giant stock tank:

PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) once again had a large presence. Last year they received loud applause and cheers, but not this year. I must have been standing with a group of their ardent supporters last year:

The Cerebral Palsy Association had a float with an Adirondack kayaking theme:

Another Holstein themed float, though I can't remember any details about it:

The only marching band was this group of four drummers, but they did a wonderful job:

An elaborate, prize winning float with a dairy theme. I was briefly puzzled by that square, blue figure on the left, but the sign explained that she was supporting Autism Awareness. The costume was shaped like a puzzle piece, their logo:

A commercial float, advertized solar power:

The Goldenaires, a men's barbershop group, went by singing. Last year I considered looking into the possibility of joining them - but I never did. A year can go by awfully quickly:

And the favorite float of the parade, pulled by two jet black, beautiful work horses:

And this is the float which the horses pulled:

There were more firetrucks and then lots of brand new, large farm machinery of three different brands, presumably from three local dealers:

The parade ended with antique tractors, followed by a police car. I was very close to my vehicle at that point, so I simply started it up and began the drive home:

Dairy Princess Parade - Part 1

I left the Dairy Princess Festival in the village park (see yesterday's post) and headed toward my parked car, crossing Main Street in Canton, New York:

The perfect Small Town America, Canton was already filling up with spectators for the parade even though it wouldn't pass by this section for some time yet:

As for me, I was walking toward the beginning of the parade. but on the way, I had to stop and ask about this adorable puppy. She was a seven week old Bloodhound:

I positioned myself on Court Street, another wonderfully scenic example of small town America:

And then the parade began. Fire trucks and ambulances were first:

The Dairy Princess and her court, waving regally at their adoring subjects below. Notice the balloons with Holstein spots:

All the floats celebrated some aspect of the dairy industry:

There was a large contingent of children walking dogs, and their banner proclaimed that it was St. Lawrence County PAWS 4-H Club:

A daycare center float, created out of a hay wagon:

Human fruits and vegetables led the way for GardenShare, an organization which grows healthy crops for local food banks:

The St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum in the town of Madrid (which I've visited and posted about several times) hosted a float with giant milk carton and milk cans:

St. Mary's had a dairy themed float with lots of hay bales. And the parade kept coming. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

St. Lawrence County Dairy Princess Festival

I attended last year's Dairy County Princess Festival and enjoyed it very much, so I'd been looking forward to it this year. The day finally arrived and I drove to the village of Canton, the St. Lawrence County Seat, where the festival was being held in the park:

There were lots of fun activities for children and lots of refreshments for those of us who love to eat:

The fountain was filled with rubber ducks but I failed to find out what they were used for:

There was a petting zoo with a Jersey calf, a Holstein calf and a Guernsey calf:

At least I think this was a Guernsey calf. It was the friendliest of the three and this boy sure took a shine to it:

I treated myself to an ice cream cone:

And crowds of other people were treating themselves to hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas, french fries, maple candy, cotton candy, barbequed chicken and just about anything else you can think of:

I don't really know what this vendor was selling, but it was so colorful that I snapped a photo:

Rainbow sno-kones and cotton candy:

A Christian summer camp, located near my place, was once again hosting a dunking contest. People who could hit the target got to see the man plunged into the tank of cold water:

And it must have been pretty easy to hit the target because the man was getting soaked quite often. I suppose that's why so many people enjoy watching it:

It was almost time for the Dairy Princess Parade to begin, so I walked back across Main Street toward where I'd parked my car. A crowd had already formed on this quintessential small town scene and I was looking forward to the parade. I'll post photos of the parade tomorrow:

St. Lawrence County Dairy Princess Parade - Part 2

Roughly half the parade had passed by me when this 1948 Ford went by:

And I got a big kick out of this float from a retirement home. I thought it wonderful that they participated and had a sense of humor:

Reality Check, a youth group fighting the smoking habit:

This marvelous action float had a moving cow (two, actually) jumping over the moon. There was also a giant spoon, so they apparently were referencing the nursery rhyme:

The State University at Canton's basketball mascot was a kangaroo:

And his pouch was full of candy, so he was a very popular marsupial:

The St. Lawrence County Maple Queen who, you may remember, I met at one of my springtime visits to a sugar house:

Cabot Cheese participated (this was, after all, a celebration of the dairy industry). The man next to me quipped, "Why aren't you handing out cheese?" and the lady in the truck said the people following them were doing just that. Indeed, a number of marchers were handing out small packages of Cabot cheese. Alas, I didn't get one:

This handsome team waited beneath a maple for their chance to get into the parade with a lady and tiny baby in the wagon. Everyone, including the horses, looked bored:

And lastly, there were antique tractors - a John Deere:

An Allis Chalmers:

And another John Deere. I was in a residential neighborhood where the parade began and so hopped in my car and found a way back to the highway which avoided the crowded downtown streets. It had been a fun and impressive parade. I hope to return next year:

St. Lawrence County Dairy Princess Parade - Part 1

I walked from the park and through the village of Canton to get closer to where the parade began. I was enormously impressed with Canton, thinking it was one of the cleanest, most picturesque towns I'd ever seen anywhere. I found a shady spot and watched as the firetrucks led the parade down Court Street:

This antique firetruck carried a giant Dalmatian, waving and throwing candy to the children:

The St. Lawrence County Dairy Princess and her court:

The Little Free Library had a large contingent of marchers:

This farm themed float won a prize but I don't remember who the sponsor was:

PFLAG (Parents, Families And Friends Of Lesbians And Gays) had a large group of marchers and got loud cheers from the watching crowd:

This barbershop chorus was singing, but I could barely hear them over the crowd:

This float was made from a hay wagon and everyone seemed to be having lots of fun:

More fun, more colors, more noise. And all the while, marchers were tossing candy to the children watching the parade:

The FFA float (Moovin' and GROOvin' with the Future Farmers of America):

And the NRA float:

There were a number of teams of handsome draft horses. And yet there was still more parade to see, so I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: