Since the inaugural event in 1953, the Pilot Club of Eatonton has been presenting the annual Dairy Festival, held each June to officially commemorate Dairy Month.
This year’s event was kicked off Friday night by a live performance by pop-rock cover band GridRocked before a sizable crowd on The Plaza’s front lawn.
On Saturday, activities centered around the downtown Putnam County Courthouse, following the early morning one-mile Brer Terrapin Trot running race, which was preceded by the longer 5K and 10K events. At 10 a.m., a lengthy Dairy Festival parade featuring floats, tractors, classic cars, and winners of the annual Dairy Festival Queen pageant entertained thousands of people lining the streets of downtown Eatonton.
To officially open the Dairy Festival, Pilot Club President Becky Wall welcomed several local dignitaries, including Eatonton Mayor John Reid with his wife, City Councilmember Janie Reid, City Councilmembers Mylle Mangum and Chip Walker, County Commission Chairman Bill Sharp with Commissioners Richard Garrett and Tom McElhenney, Putnam County Clerk of Courts Trevor Addison and County Tax Commissioner Terrell Abernathy, Sheriff Howard Sills, Putnam County Coroner Hollis Harrison, Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale, Superior Court Chief Judge Alison Burson, Probate Court Judge Brandy Huskins, and Chief Magistrate Judge Dorothy Adams.
Wall also presented a certificate of appreciation to Bryce Trotter, executive director of Georgia Milk Producers, Inc., for “outstanding leadership and support to the dairy industry.” Trotter later gave a brief speech, emphasizing the county’s proud dairy history and praising the Pilot Club and local citizens for continuing to recognize and support local dairy farmers.
Entertainment throughout the day was provided by Ray Saltamacchio’s Tang Soo Do Karate, Putnam County High School singers Audrey Sumner, Kellsey Ortega, and Aidan Brock, among others; well-known Uncle Remus storyteller Georgia Smith, and Greene County’s Evergreen Folk group featuring sisters Helen, Elisa, and Lily Garcia-Carreras, as well as several Putnam County Middle School theatre and chorus students.