MERIDIAN, Idaho — Meridian Dairy Days, a staple in the city since 1929, is expanding this year's celebration to be bigger than ever before.
The annual event, which began as a simple picnic for local dairy farmers when the city's creamery opened, has evolved into a major community festival at Storey Park.
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"This was Dairyland. There was dairies everywhere," said Ray Plum, a Meridian Dairy Days Boardmember who grew up in the area.
Plum recalls the city was jam-packed full of dairies when he was a kid.
"I grew up about 2 1/2 miles from here, south of town, and there was I believe nine dairies within a mile and a half of my house," Plum said.
While many of those dairies have disappeared as Meridian has grown, the festival continues to preserve the city's agricultural heritage.
Hans Bruijn, Meridian Dairy Board president, has been involved with Dairy Days since 1987 and has witnessed its transformation firsthand.
"Well, the first kind of Dairy Days was in 1929. It was when the creamery opened here in Meridian, and it was kind of like a picnic for the local dairy farmers that were part of that," Bruijn said.
What began as a friendly competition among farmers showing off their dairy cattle and dairy goats has evolved to meet changing times.
"It started developing to bringing out your cows, and who is better than your neighbor's cows, and it just grew from there," Bruijn said.
As dairies have disappeared over the years, the event's focus has shifted accordingly.
"And now we're more about educating the public about the dairy industry," Bruijn said.
The weekend will still feature dairy cattle and dairy goat shows on Friday, but most activities are now family-oriented. This year marks the debut of hot air balloons, with both morning flights and a nighttime "dairy glow" display.
For many locals, the event represents an important connection to community history.
"I grew up here, I love this town, and I love the traditions that we had when I was a kid and I want this for my kids and my kids' kids and so on and Dairy Days is huge. It's fun, it's great, it's a good place to be, it's safe place for the kids and it's an experience that nobody ever forgets," Plum said.
Storey Park will host vendors, food, and activities starting Thursday.
