St. Lawrence is a dairy county and the Dairy Princess Festival is an annual celebration of that industry.

The Dairy Princess parade is sponsored by the Canton Chamber of Commerce to promote the local dairy industry, a cornerstone of the St. Lawrence county economy.

The parade received positive reviews this year for increased participation.

Mary Miller, of Gouverneur was crowned St. Lawrence County Dairy Princess after a May 13 pageant that included a speech on why milk is “the healthy choice” and a quiz of general dairy knowledge in front of a panel of judges. 

“Dairy is good for you!” a member of Miller’s royal court said.

The amount of candy has escalated in recent years, Canton resident Jeremiah Ayrassian said. “Some kid just ran by with a whole bag full of loot,” Shannon Ayrassian said.

The Ayrassians said they go the parade every year because their kids love it, especially for the candy thrown from the parade floats.  

“They are throwing cheese sticks so there are healthy options.” Jeremiah said.

With three pieces of Dubble Bubble bubble-gum in her mouth, Autumn said there was too much candy this year. Last year there was too little candy, she said, so hopefully next year will be just right.

Karen Johnson-Weiner, SUNY Potsdam Department of Anthropology Chair, walked in the parade with a float of TAUNY fiddlers and musicians to hand out TAUNY fliers as well as cheese.

Julie Ladison and Colleen Baker, both of Canton, said they enjoyed the parade because it had more music than last year. The amount of floats in the parade and overall participation has increased, they said.